This week was all about announcements from world’s leading trade show IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) in Berlin. Team FoneArena brought all the exclusive images and videos from the Ground Zero (Messe Berlin). Do checkout our YouTube channel for IFA 2015 videos and more.
Sony Announcements at IFA
The Japanese firm took wraps off Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, and Xperia Z5 Premium smartphones at the IFA 2015.
Sony Xperia Z5 is company’s flagship smartphone that has the same 5.2-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Triluminos display and is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 810 processor, similar to the Xperia Z3+ or Xperia Z4.
Sony Xperia Z5 || Specifications || Hands-on || Photo Gallery || Camera Samples || Hands-on Video
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact comes in Dual-SIM variant as the Xperia Z5 Dual, but it will depend on the market.It has a 4.6-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) Triluminos Display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 810 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM.
Sony Xperia Z5 || Specifications || Photo Gallery || Hands-on Video
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is world’s first smartphone with 4K display. Not just the 4K display, it also has a slightly larger 5.5-inch TRILUMINOS screen as compared to the 5.2-inch screen on the Xperia Z5. Other than that, it is powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core CPU and supports 4G LTE standards, Just like the Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact.
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium || Specifications || Hands-on || Photo Gallery || Camera Samples
What is standard in all three Xperia Z5 smartphones is that the design is almost identical, a 23MP rear camera, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) and integrate a fingerprint sensor onto the power button.
Alongside the Xperia Z5 series, Sony announced new High-Resolution Audio compatible headphones.The h.ear in earphones and over-ear headphones are called “h.ear On“. Sony claims that the h.ear on headband-style headphones deliver Hi-Res Audio compatibility with 40mm HD drivers which reproduce sounds up to 60 kHz.
Sony h.ear on and h.ear in Headphones Photo Gallery || Hands-on Video
Lastly, Sony also unveiled its First Flight crowdfunding platform for an upcoming ‘Wena Wrist’ smartwatch in Japan. The smartwatch looks like a traditional watch with round dial, analog hands and comes in silver or black metallic finish. Checkout full details here.
Lenovo Announcements at IFA
Lenovo at IFA Berlin introduced a unique smartphone with two front facing cameras for selfie enthusiasts dubbed the Lenovo Vibe S1. The dual selfie camera setup consists of an 8-megapixel primary front camera that captures images and a 2-megapixel secondary front camera that analyzes depth of field. Checkout full details here.
Lenovo Vibe S1 || Specifications || Photo Gallery || Hands-on || Hands-on Video
Along with the Vibe S1, firm announced the Vibe P1 and Vibe P1m at its press conference. While the Lenovo Vibe P1 sports a 5.5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, the Vibe P1m has a relative small 5-inch display with 720p pixel resolution. The unique selling point for both the device is its long lasting 5000mAh and 4000mAh batteries respectively. The Vibe P1 and P1m has an unique OTG Charging function using which you can charge other USB-connected devices, such as Bluetooth headsets and portable speakers. Both the smartphones carry the same design language.
Lenovo Vibe P1 and P1m || Specifications Vibe P1 || Specifications Vibe P1m || Vibe P1 Photo Gallery || Vibe P1m Photo Gallery || Vibe P1 Hands-on
Lenovo announced the Phab Plus phablet range in China last month, and it now previewed and introduced for international market at the IFA 2015. The new Phab comes with a 6.98-inch HD display and Phab Plus comes with 6.8-inch full-HD display. As we already know, the Phab Plus is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 615 SoC, the Phab is powered by a 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon SoC (Snapdragon 410 likely). Both these run on Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with Lenovo’s own Vibe UI on top, have a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
Lenovo Phab and Lenovo Phab Plus priced at $179 and $299 || Specifications || Phab Plus Photo Gallery || Hands-on || Phab Plus Hands-on Video
Coming to Lenovo’s new Yoga tablets, the company announced two devices – the Yoga Tab 3 and the Yoga Tab 3 Pro. The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 comes in two different display sizes – an 8-inch display and a 10-inch display with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels. Both the tablets are powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz processor (Qualcomm APQ8009) coupled with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (microSD card up to 128GB) and 8MP rotatable auto focus camera.
Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 8-inch and 10-inch variants start at 199 and 299 Euros || Specifications Yoga Tab 3 || Photo Gallery
Other than the new Yoga Tab 3 variants, Lenovo’s Yoga Tab 3 Pro was also on preview. The highlight of Yoga 3 Pro is its built-in 70-inch projector and four front-facing JBL speakers with Dolby Atmos surround sound technology. It is priced at 349 Euros for Wi-Fi only variant and 599 Euros for LTE variant. It will be made available from November via Lenovo’s retail partners.
Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro with built-in 70-inch beam projector || Specifications Yoga Tab 3 Pro || Hands-on || Hands-on Video
Lastly, Lenovo announced its Chromebook 100S at IFA 2015. Powered by Chrome OS, the notebook sports a 11.6-inch HD display and is powered by a Intel Celeron N2840 processor. The Lenovo Chromebook 100S 11.6-inch model is priced at $179 while the 14-inch version will go for $259. These will be available starting October. Check full coverage here.
Motorola Announcements at IFA
The Lenovo-owned Motorola announced its second generation Moto 360 Android Wear smartwatch at IFA Berlin 2015. The new Moto 360 comes in two different sizes for men and one special variant only for women. Also, there is one other edition of the new Moto 360 dubbed the Moto 360 Sport.
Prices vary by design and range from $299.99 to $429.99. and availability will be announced soon.
Motorola Moto 360 and Moto 360 Sport Edition full details || Specifications || Photo Gallery || Hands-on || Hands-on Video
Samsung Announcements at IFA
Samsung’s focus at IFA Berlin was mainly on IoT devices. But company also previewed its all new Gear S2 range of smartwatches – Gear S2, Gear S2 3G and Gear S2 classic – that were announced ahead of IFA.
All these Gear S2 wearables have a similar 1.2-inch ( 360×360 pixels) Circular Super AMOLED displays, rotating bezel and runs on Tizen based wearable OS platform. These also have Home and Back buttons to access notifications and applications easily.The Gear S2 3G has built-in e-SIM support that lets you independently make and receive calls, without connecting to a device and also offers 3G support.
The Samsung Gear S2 and Gear S2 3G come in Dark Gray case with a Dark Gray band and Silver case with a White band. The Samsung Gear S2 classic comes in Black case with a Leather band.
Details of Samsung Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic smartwatches || Specs Gear S2 || Specs Gear S2 Classic || Gear S2 Hands-on Impressions || Gear S2 Photo Gallery || Gear S2 Classic Photo Gallery || Gear S2 Circular UX Hands-on Video
Coming to Samsung’s IoT devices, firm unveiled a internet-connected tracker that monitors and manage your sleep. Dubbed the SleepSense, is essentially a small sensor in the form of a flat disk that tracks your sleep by placing it under a bed mattress, and provides contact-less monitoring of a person’s heart and respiratory rate including movements during sleep. Check full details here.
Samsung next generation SmartThings Hub announced
Samsung Galaxy View large screen tablet teased, coming in October
Acer Announcements at IFA
Acer announced a new range of Liquid Z series of smartphones at the IFA trade show dubbed the Acer Liquid Z530, Acer Liquid Z530S, Acer Liquid Z630 and Acer Liquid Z630S. The Liquid Z530 and Z530S have 5-inch HD IPS displays, and the Liquid Z630 and Z630S smartphones have 5.5-inch HD IPS displays, and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). All these four smartphones pack an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Acer Liquid Z630 will roll out in EMEA regions by the end of September, with prices starting at €229 and roll out in the US from October starting at $199. No word about the pricing or availability for Liquid Z630S.
Acer Liquid Z630 and Acer Liquid Z630S || Specifications Z630 || Specifications Z630S
Acer Liquid Z530 and Acer Liquid Z530S || Specifications Z530 || Specifications Z530S
Apart from these Z series Android smartphones, firm also showcased the Liquid Z330 and Z320 with Android 5.1, and three smartphones with Windows 10 mobile OS dubbed the Liquid M330 and M320 and Acer Jade Primo.
Acer Jade Primo with 5.5 inch AMOLED display, Snapdragon 808, Windows 10 announced
Acer Liquid Z330 specifications || Acer Liquid Z320 specifications || Acer Liquid M330 specifications || Acer Liquid M320 specifications
Dubbed Acer Chromebook R11, the convertible notebook by Asus comes with a 11.6-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and comes with a 360-degree hinge design that can be folded backward or forward. It can be transformed into four modes like laptop, pad, display and tent.
The Acer Chromebook R11 will comes in white and black colours and will be available in North America for $299 this October, while it will reach other markets in November for €299. Check detailed coverage here.
Lastly, Acer announced a new Android gaming tablet dubbed the Acer Predator 8 GT-810. The aluminum-frame tablet has an 8-inch full-HD display (1920 x 1200) and runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. It comes with pre-loaded Asphalt 8 and other 320,000 games. The tablet boasts of four front-facing speakers that are controlled with Acer’s own DSP algorithm which they claim will “enhance sound quality with virtual surround.”
The Acer Predator 8 gaming tablet will be launch on November 6th in the US for $299 and in Europe sometime in October for €349.
Acer Predator 8 in detail || Specifications
Huawei Announcements at IFA
Huawei announced world’s first smartphone with force touch display dubbed the Huawei Mate S. The force touch display can essentially recognize different levels of pressure on the screen, allowing the user to complete different actions such as zooming in to a photo or launching an app by applying pressure.
Other specifications of Mate S include a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, an Octa-Core HiSilicon Kirin 935 SoC based on big.LITTLE architecture, and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Emotion UI 3.1 on top.
Huawei Mate S || Specifications || Photo Gallery || Hands-on and Force Touch Demo
Another smartphone from Huawei at IFA was in G Series dubbed the new Huawei G8. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p screen, is powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 616 SoC and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Huawei Emotion UI 3.1. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, OIS and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has all-metal uni-body design, fingerprint sensor 2.0 on the back, comes with dual SIM support and has 4G LTE support. Read more Huawei G8 here.
Finally, Huawei revealed the pricing and availability of its Android Wear powered smartwatch dubbed the Huawei Watch at IFA 2015. Company had showed off the wearable at MWC earlier this year in March.
Huawei Watch now available for pre-order starting at $349 || Specs Huawei Watch || Photo Gallery || Hands-on Video
Asus Announcements at IFA
Asus at IFA trade show announced a new router dubbed Asus RT-AC5300 that according to the company is world’s fastest Wi-Fi speed router. The router has an eye-catching design and comes with brilliant specifications that include a Broadcomm NitroQAM chip and delivers 1000Mbit/s on the 2.4GHz band and up to 2167Mbit/s on each of the two 5GHz bands for combined speeds of up to 5334Mbit/s. The router has 4 transmit and 4 receive antenna configuration, which improves the Wi-Fi range and signal stability. Asus says that the RT-AC5300 offers 500 square meters signal coverage.
Asus RT-AC5300 router || Specifications of RT-AC5300
Asus also announced VivoStick PC, a PC stick running full Windows 10. This tiny dongle can transform any TV or a monitor with a HDMI port to a full-fledged PC, similar to the Intel Compute Stick. It is powered by a Intel’s 14nm Cherry Trail platform, has 2GB of DDR3L RAM and 32 GB of storage, but it lacks an microSD expansion slot, which is a big disadvantage since Windows 10 itself takes half of the storage.
Asus VivoStick PC priced at $129 || Specifications Asus VivoStick || Photo Gallery || Hands-on Video
At IFA 2015, Asus officially launched the ZenWatch 2 in two different sizes by detailing its pricing and availability. To remind you, the watch was announced at Computex 2015 in June this year.
The Asus ZenWatch 2 45mm model is priced at 149 Euros while 169 Euros for the larger 49mm version and will be launched in October.
More details about Asus ZenWatch 2, coming in October || Specifications of ZenWatch 2 || Hands-on Video
Lastly, Asus showcased a 26800mAh Power Bank at the IFA, although it did not officially announce. We got to check out the power bank, which is bigger and heavier than Xiaomi’s 16000mAh Powerbank that was launched in India earlier this year.
Checkout Asus 26800mAh Power Bank Photo Gallery
More IFA 2015 Announcements
Alcatel
Alcatel OneTouch Pop Up, Pop Star and Go Play smartphones, Go Watch wearable announced || Specs Pop Up || Specs Pop Star
Alcatel OneTouch Xess Android tablet with 17.3-inch display and stylus announced
ARCHOS
ARCHOS Diamond Plus with 5.5-inch 1080p display, 16MP camera, 4G LTE announced
Intel
Intel introduces 6th Gen Skylake mobile and desktop processors
ZTE
ZTE Axon Elite with 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 810 announced for global markets
Miscellaneous
Wacom’s Bamboo Spark turns your ink notes on paper into digital notes
TomTom announces Spark fitness tracker with music player || Specs TomTom Spark