The countdown to IFA 2026 has begun. Ahead of the show, I sat down with Leif Lindner, CEO of IFA, to talk about what sets Europe’s biggest tech and consumer electronics event apart from CES, and why he sees the two shows as chapters in the same story rather than rivals.
Lindner walked me through what’s likely to steal the show this year, specifically hinting that embodied AI is the category most likely to catch people off guard. He also talked through how IFA balances scale with navigability for buyers, media, and the public alike. Read on to learn from the man himself about what this year’s event has in store for us.
Homecrux (HC): Every January, CES sets the tone for what the industry expects to see later in the year. What does IFA offer that CES doesn’t, and how do you market the September show against that early-year momentum out of Las Vegas?
Leif Lindner (LL): I often describe CES as the trailer for IFA. CES opens the technology year, creates excitement, and gives the industry an early indication of the ideas and trends that will shape the months ahead. By September, the story has developed. At IFA, many of the concepts introduced at the beginning of the year have become real products, practical applications, and market-ready solutions. Visitors can see them, test them, compare them, and understand how they will fit into everyday life.
IFA also has a distinctive position because we bring the entire ecosystem together: the global technology industry, retailers, media, creators, and consumers. This creates a very direct connection between innovation, commercial opportunity, and the people who will ultimately use the products. So, I do not see IFA and CES simply as competitors. They are complementary moments in the international technology calendar. CES provides the trailer, while IFA brings the full story to life.
HC: AI, robotics and deep tech have dominated the last two IFA editions. Which category or product type can genuinely surprise us at IFA 2026, something that wasn’t on the consumer radar a few years ago?
LL: I believe one of the biggest areas of surprise will be embodied AI. For several years, the public conversation around AI was largely about software, smartphones, and screens. Now AI is beginning to acquire a physical presence. We are seeing robots that can clean, maintain gardens, support people in the home, provide training or assistance, and interact more intelligently with their surroundings. We are also seeing developments such as intelligent exoskeletons, more capable personal robots, and machines that can understand a physical environment and act within it.
A few years ago, the main question was whether a household product could connect to an app. The question now is whether it can perceive its environment, make useful decisions, and perform a task safely and independently. Not every concept will immediately become a mass-market product, but this movement from digital intelligence to physical action will be one of the most interesting areas to watch at IFA 2026.
HC: You’ve spoken about IFA becoming a year-round platform rather than a five-day trade fair. What does that look like in practice, and how far along is that transition right now?
LL: A year-round platform does not mean extending five days of trade fair communication across twelve months. It means creating relevant opportunities for our different communities to stay connected before and after the show.
A key part of this is our programme of international press events, which we organise throughout the year in different markets around the world. These events allow us to meet local media, brands, retailers and partners directly, share the latest developments from IFA and understand the topics shaping each market.
We also begin the conversation well ahead of September through formats such as the IFA Kick-Off and the International IFA Kick-Off. Throughout the year, we publish industry updates, interviews, data stories and insights, while working closely with brands, retailers, media, creators and international partners to develop topics and relationships that lead into the show.
We are already well into that transition, but the physical event in Berlin remains the anchor. There is still enormous value in meeting face-to-face, experiencing products and bringing the entire ecosystem together. The objective is continuity, not replacement. The international events, content and conversations taking place throughout the year should make IFA in September more relevant, while the ideas, partnerships and stories created in Berlin should continue well beyond the five show days.
HC: With over 1,900 exhibitors and visitors from well over a hundred countries, how do you keep the show navigable for both industry buyers and the general public without diluting the experience for either?
LL: The scale of IFA is one of its greatest strengths, but scale only works when people can create a clear route through the event. We therefore design IFA as several connected experiences. A buyer may focus on sourcing, business meetings, the Retail Innovation Zone, expert content and guided tours. Media representatives have the Media Days, press conferences, brand meetings and dedicated media services. Consumers can explore products hands-on and experience gaming, creator formats, entertainment and cultural programming.
The show areas provide the first level of orientation. The stages and content tracks provide another, while curated guided tours take trade visitors directly to the companies, products and trends most relevant to their work. The goal is not to give every visitor the same IFA. It is to give each audience a focused experience while preserving the opportunities for discovery that come from having the full technology ecosystem in one place. That is also what “Innovation for All” means in practice.
HC: A large number of exhibitors at IFA are start-ups and technology companies from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other Asian markets. Are there any up-and-coming brands that have particularly impressed you?
LL: Asia continues to be one of the most dynamic regions in the global technology industry. What is impressive is not simply the scale of production, but the speed at which companies are turning advances in AI, robotics, sensors and battery technology into consumer products.
I am always slightly cautious about selecting winners before the show has taken place, but there are several companies worth watching. MOVA is developing a broad intelligent-living ecosystem across cleaning, personal care, kitchen appliances and outdoor products. Mammotion is pushing robotics further into gardens and outdoor living, while EngineAI represents the rapid development we are seeing in humanoid robotics.
What interests me most is the willingness of many of these companies to enter categories that did not really exist a few years ago. They are not simply making another version of an established product. They are exploring new tasks, new environments and new ways in which technology can support everyday life. IFA allows these companies to demonstrate that innovation internationally and, just as importantly, to receive direct feedback from retailers, media, partners and consumers.
HC: Looking past IFA 2026, what’s the one shift in consumer technology you think will most change what this show looks like five years from now?
LL: The biggest shift will be the move from individual smart products to adaptive ecosystems. Today, we still tend to think in separate categories: the television, the appliance, the car, the wearable, the health device, or the energy system. Over the next five years, those boundaries will become much less clear. Devices will increasingly understand context, exchange information, and work together, with AI operating quietly in the background.
That will also change the structure of technology shows. We may talk less about individual product categories and more about human needs: how people live, work, move, create, manage energy, care for their health or remain independent as they grow older.
Products will, of course, remain central. But the real value will increasingly come from how those products work together, how secure and trustworthy they are, and whether they genuinely simplify life. In many cases, the most successful technology will be the technology that consumers notice less because it fits naturally into their routines.
HC: Before we wrap-up, what’s a typical day in a CEO’s life, especially when the 20-day countdown to IFA has officially begun?
LL: There is probably no such thing as a typical day, especially during the final 20 days before IFA. My day normally begins quite early with an overview of the decisions that are still open. These might concern exhibitors, the programme, production, communications, partnerships, the visitor experience, or one of the many international activities surrounding the show. From there, the day is usually a combination of meetings with our internal teams, conversations with brands and partners, media interviews and discussions with stakeholders in Berlin and around the world.
At this stage of the countdown, the details become very real. One hour you may be discussing the long-term positioning of IFA, and the next you are reviewing the flow of a venue, the wording of an announcement or a practical issue that needs an immediate decision. My role is to keep the bigger picture clear, make decisions when they are needed, and give the team the support and space to do its best work. The pace is intense, but it is also the point when all the planning begins to come together, and IFA starts to feel very real.
I also try to make time to switch off properly. For me, that might mean boxing or going to a metal concert. Both are a good contrast to a day full of meetings and decisions, and they help me return with a clear head and new energy.
