IFA 2016 preview: What to expect from Samsung, Sony, Huawei, LG and more

The annual IFA technology show in Berlin is about to open its doors, behind which the world's biggest technology companies are ready to show off their latest wares. There will be smartphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, televisions and much more.

Here, IBTimes UK has gathered together all of the rumours, leaks and gossip we have seen in recent weeks to bring you a guide to everything to expect from IFA 2016.

Samsung

• Gear S3

As it has done for several years now, Samsung will be hosting an 'Unpacked' media event in Berlin on 31 August, the eve of IFA. Here, the company will almost certainly reveal a new smartwatch called the Gear S3. It will run the Tizen operating system and will likely be controlled via a touch screen and a rotate bezel, as first shown by Samsung on last year's Gear S2.

If Samsung gets the S3 to market quickly, then it could arrive at the same time as Apple's Watch 2, which is tipped to be announced alongside the iPhone 7 in September.

• Gear VR

Samsung will likely use some form of VR during its Gear S3 event, but with a new version of Gear VR being announced recently, we doubt there will be any updates here, at least as far as hardware is concerned.

• Televisions - HDR 4K

IFA is renowned for being a show packed full of televisions and 2016 is expected to be no different. Samsung will likely have a booth filled with enormous TV, especially those supporting HDR (high dynamic range) Ultra HD. HDR is tipped to be the Next Big Thing for TV broadcasting in 2017 and beyond.

• 4K Blu-ray players

Another theme of IFA 2016 will be 4K (also known as Ultra HD) Blu-ray players. As such, we expect to see one or two from Samsung, along with a range of other home entertainment kit, like speakers.

• Smart home technology and white goods

Finally, Samsung has a second press conference scheduled for the morning of 1 September, where it is expected to announce new household tech like smart washing machines and other white goods.

Sony

Sony is also expected to show off new televisions and 4K Blu-ray player with HDR compatibility, in addition to at least one new smartphone. The rumour mill claims it will be a new Android flagship called the Xperia XR, but so far we haven't spotted much to separate it from the Xperia X, which we struggled to get along with when we reviewed it recently.

A leak appearing online just days before IFA shows a smaller version of the Xperia X, expected to be called the Xperia X Compact.

Huawei

Huawei often puts in a strong performance at IFA, and for 2016 we expect to see a new mid-sized tablet from the iPad Mini-rivalling MediaPad range. There will also likely be a new big-screen flagship to replace the year-old Mate S, and we could also see updates to the Huawei Watch.

LG

The rumour mill claims LG will use IFA to announce the third installment in its G Flex range of smartphones with curved screens. The G Flex 3 is tipped to have a 5.5in screen, a modular design like the LG G5, where accessories can be clipped on and off, and the same 'safe-healing' plastic back as the G Flex 2.

LG is also expected to cover its IFA booth in massive televisions. These will almost certainly include HDR, some will be curved, and others will have OLED panels, making them incredibly thin and wallet-bustingly expensive. We also expect the company to jump on the 4K Blu-ray bandwagon.

Motorola

Now owned by Lenovo, we expect Motorola to show off an update to its Moto 360 smartwatch. This will be the third model and come a year after the Moto 360 2 was revealed at IFA in 2015. The smartwatch market has been in hibernation for much of 2016, so hopefully Lenovo and its Moto range can inject some life back into it before the Apple Watch 2 comes along later in the year.