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Samsung IFA 2017 launch: What you need to know

The Korean company packs its event in Berlin with plenty of news on gear ranging from home appliances to wearables.

samsung-ifa-press-conference-2017
David Lowes, head of marketing for Samsung's European operations, touts the company's vision what "normal" now is with smart devices. 
Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Samsung may have just hosted a major event in New York, but there's no way it was going to sit out the biggest tech show in Europe.

That's IFA, held each year in Berlin. And Samsung did have plenty of news (even if it all was pretty minor compared with its new flagship Note 8 smartphone). 

Samsung's now best known for its smartphones, but it has a huge business selling other electronics, including TVs and home appliances. The company typically hosts two separate events at IFA, one for its electronics business and one for mobile. This year, it combined them into an hour-long keynote Wednesday at the Tempodrom in central Berlin. 

Its talk centered around the theme of "your new normal" -- what life should be like with all of your smart devices. 

"What is your new normal?" asked David Lowes, head of marketing for Samsung's European operations. "It's being able to create, capture and share moments in the moment. It's having TV as a work of art. It's having your laundry perfectly done in 30 minutes. It's having a wellness trainer on your wrist. It's about simple innovations that change aspects of your life in ways you never could have anticipated but then can't live without."

Samsung's biggest news was three new wearables -- the Gear Sport smartwatch, Gear Fit 2 Pro fitness band and Icon X 2018 wireless earbuds. They all emphasize fitness features, like the ability to swim in salt water with the Gear Sport and Fit 2 Pro. One thing the watch and fitness band don't have is Bixby, Samsung's new voice assistant, though the Icon X 2018 earbuds can interact with Bixby via a Samsung phone. 

Here's everything Samsung announced:

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