IFA Berlin 2026 – A Day in the World of Future Technology

My journey to IFA did not begin with futuristic robots, enormous screens, or smart homes. It began at a small railway station in my Swiss town, from where I had to make my way to Berlin by train. And it soon became clear that the journey would be a little more eventful than planned: train problems, delays, unexpected connections, and rain that accompanied me for much of the way. Towns and villages passed by behind rain-covered train windows, and the beginning of the trip looked rather grey — quite literally. Fortunately, after arriving in Berlin, the weather gradually improved, the rain stayed behind along with the railway adventures, and my mood immediately became much better.

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One of the main reasons for my trip to Berlin was IFA, and I decided to visit the exhibition on my very first day. On the opening day, trade visitors and industry representatives could enter the Messe Berlin grounds in the morning, while the doors opened to the general public at 12:00. So around noon, I was already inside and ready to explore one of the world’s best-known consumer electronics exhibitions. The first thing that strikes you about IFA is its scale. This is not just one huge exhibition hall that you can leisurely walk around. For several days, Messe Berlin turns into an entire city of technology: hall after hall, passageways, staircases, courtyards, enormous stands from global brands, and tiny booths belonging to companies whose names you may be seeing for the first time. I quickly realized that seeing everything here in just a few hours would be practically impossible.

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One of the most impressive areas for me was the enormous Xiaomi space. The company created a truly impressive stand where smartphones and wearable devices were only a small part of the bigger picture. Televisions, home appliances, smart-home devices, robots, and countless other products were brought together into one large ecosystem. It was here that I particularly noticed how far modern technology companies have moved beyond the idea of producing just one particular type of device. But what probably impressed me most at the Xiaomi stand were their cars. Seeing them in person was especially interesting: not so long ago, I associated Xiaomi primarily with smartphones and various gadgets, and now there were full-sized modern electric cars standing right beside them. They looked genuinely impressive, attracted plenty of attention, and became some of the most memorable exhibits of the entire show for me. It was another great example of just how far the Xiaomi ecosystem now extends — from a small device in your pocket all the way to a car.

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A huge part of IFA was dedicated to technology for the home and kitchen. Washing machines, vacuum cleaners, coffee machines, kitchen appliances, air-purification systems — and, of course, refrigerators. Lots and lots of refrigerators. Some of them now look more like large home computers with doors: displays, cameras inside, different temperature zones, food-management systems, and integration with other smart-home devices. After walking through several halls, you start to suspect that refrigerator manufacturers are fighting a separate technological war of their own.

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I also particularly remember the companies working with drones. Here, too, it was easy to see how far the industry has moved beyond the simple idea of a “flying camera.” Drones are becoming smaller and smarter, gaining more and more autonomous functions and finding applications in very different fields. At the exhibition, it was possible to see both familiar consumer models and much more specialized solutions.

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But for me, the most interesting part was not finding one particular device. The real fun was simply walking forward without knowing what would be around the next corner. In one hall, you are surrounded by enormous televisions; in another, there is a robot dog; a few minutes later, you are looking at a refrigerator from the future, then you find yourself among drones, and shortly afterwards you are standing at the small booth of some company with a completely strange device you did not even know existed a minute earlier. This was exactly what created the special atmosphere of IFA. It was a serious international technology event, yet at the same time it never felt boring or overly formal. Something was constantly happening around you: presentations, demonstrations, music, people testing new devices, taking photographs, talking to company representatives, or simply examining another unusual gadget with curiosity. It was surprisingly fun just to get lost in this enormous technological chaos.

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In the end, I spent around four hours at IFA. Before the trip, I thought that would be more than enough. Four hours later, I realized how wrong I had been. I had seen only part of the exhibition halls and definitely missed many things I had wanted to see. I could easily have stayed for several more hours — and probably still would not have managed to see everything. But by that point, my legs were voting rather convincingly for the end of the day’s technology program. Four hours of constant walking between halls, stands, and different levels of Messe Berlin had taken their toll. I left IFA very tired, with a phone full of photographs, a head full of gadgets I had seen, and the feeling that I had missed at least half of the exhibition. Perhaps that is the best indication of just how enormous it really is.

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IFA turned out to be exactly the kind of event that is fascinating to visit even if you have no intention of finding or buying any particular device. It is an opportunity to spend a few hours surrounded by countless ideas of what manufacturers believe our near technological future might look like. Some of these ideas seem genuinely useful. Some are a little strange. Some make you wonder whether your refrigerator really needs to know quite so much about you. But that is exactly what makes IFA so interesting. And if I find myself at IFA again one day, there is one thing I will definitely know in advance: four hours are simply not enough for this exhibition.

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💡 ℹ️ One of the most fascinating facts about IFA is that this exhibition has been showcasing the “technology of the future” for more than a hundred years. The first Internationale Funkausstellung took place in Berlin back in 1924 and was primarily dedicated to radio. In 1930, Albert Einstein spoke at the opening ceremony of IFA, delivering a speech about radio and communication technology. So while walking today among robots, artificial intelligence, smart refrigerators, and drones, it is fascinating to realize that more than nine decades ago visitors to the very same exhibition were looking at the latest radio receivers with much the same sense of excitement.

🇩🇪 Interesting Facts about IFA Berlin

  • More than 100 years of history. The first Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin took place in 1924, making IFA one of the world’s oldest technology exhibitions.
  • IFA originally began as a radio exhibition. The name Internationale Funkausstellung is directly connected to radio technology, which in the 1920s was one of the most advanced forms of mass communication.
  • Albert Einstein opened IFA. In 1930, Einstein gave a speech at the opening of the exhibition about radio and the development of communication technology.
  • Television was once the technology of the future here. As early as 1928, early television technology was demonstrated at the exhibition — much like robots and artificial intelligence systems are presented to visitors today.
  • The Funkturm became a symbol of the exhibition grounds. Berlin’s famous radio tower opened in 1926 and still rises above Messe Berlin today, remaining one of the most recognizable symbols associated with IFA.
  • The compact disc was presented to the public at IFA. In 1981, Philips and Sony demonstrated Compact Disc technology at the exhibition in Berlin — another example of a technology that would later become part of everyday life for millions of people.
  • From radios to robots. Over its long history, IFA has evolved from radio receivers and early televisions to smartphones, smart homes, artificial intelligence, robotics, and drones.
  • The exhibition occupies the huge Messe Berlin complex. Dozens of halls and passageways create the feeling of a small city, which is why trying to see the entire IFA in just a few hours quickly becomes an almost impossible task.
  • IFA remains open to ordinary visitors. Unlike many major technology events aimed primarily at professionals and the press, a significant part of IFA is open to the general public.
  • One place, many different visions of the future. Today at IFA, you can find smartphones, televisions, kitchen appliances, robots, drones, health and fitness devices, smart-home systems, and countless experimental products all in one place.

Learn more about IFA Berlin or explore our other travel stories.

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About 9 km from Berlin.

  • 🏛 Capital: Berlin
  • 📍 Distance from capital: 9 km
  • 🧭 Coordinates: 52.502° N, 13.271° E
  • 👥 Population: 83.2M
  • 💶 Currency: Euro (€)
  • 🗣 Language: German
  • ⏰ Timezone: UTC+1
Trip location Berlin Straight-line distance

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