As expected, IFA this year was once again chock full of gadgets and goodies that may have sparked imaginations, made mouths water, and even made some eyes roll. And while some have revealed their hand before IFA 2015 even started, some even a month ahead (hello Samsung), that only meant there was a lot more room for others to take the stage. Naturally, this week is filled with news of those devices and announcements, so we give way to the Android Community Weekly Digest’s IFA 2015 round-up.
Sony
At the very top of our list is unsurprisingly Sony, who finally revealed what it had in mind for a flagship line this second half of the year. And it will probably be a divisive as its previous flagship. The Xperia Z5 family comes in three sizes, the Compact, the main model, and the larger Premium. All three are almost identical save for screen size and resolution and a few specs. For example, they all run on the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, which is rather a surprise given how much flak Sony has received because of it. The Xperia Z5 Premium is the model that bears the astounding and almost ridiculous 4K resolution, while the main Xperia Z5 still goes with 1080p. And yes, it’s still the same OmniBalance design right there.
Check out our hands-on of the Xperia Z5 trio to see what else Sony had planned for its fans.
Perhaps equally significant as the Xperia Z5’s features are its prices. Sony’s UK store has revealed the pre-order figures for the three smartphones and, needless to say, they might as well have been made out of gold. Hopefully Sony will have some price adjustments really soon, or at least an explanation.
Lenovo
Lenovo might be integrating its Lenovo Mobile group into Motorola in the future, but it isn’t throwing in the smartphone towel just yet. Especially not here at IFA 2015. Besides revealing the usual new VIBE models, Lenovo even introduced a new line, a PHAB phablet brand that isn’t as phabulous. These are practically your 6 to 7 inch “smartphones” that are designed to be less about phones and more about about smarts.
Of course, an IFA won’t go by without Lenovo introducing the latest YOGA Android tablets. And yes, there’s still one with a built-in projector. Strangely, no sign of Ashton Kutcher this time around.
Acer
Acer had a rather surprising revelation this IFA. And no, it’s not with its usual fare of smartphones like the Liquid Z320 and Z330 and the Liquid Z530 and Z630. No, this is more about bringing its Predator brand to the world of mobile. Acer’s Predator line has mostly revolved around gaming PCs and laptops, but now the manufacturer is revealing the first tablet and smartphone members of the family. The Predator 8 might be a bit disappointing in that regard, powered by an Intel Atom x7-Z8700 and with only 2 GB of RAM and an 8-inch 1920×1200 screen. More interesting is the Predator 6 smartphone with its deca-core CPU. That’s 10 cores right there for processing power, helped by 4 GB of RAM. Sadly, Acer seems to have skimped on the display, putting only a 6-inch HD screen on it.
Huawei
Huawei had two (well, two and a half) revelations at IFA 2015. First was the Huawei Mate S that has been leaked numerous times already. And yes, it does have a Force Touch screen that can distinguish between different “hardness” of touch or press. It also features a “knuckle gesture” that lets you draw out commands using your, well, knuckles. The 5.5-inch Full HD tablet is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin 935 processor, backed by 3 GB of RAM. There’s also a fingerprint scanner, in case you’re wondering.
Perhaps an even more delightful news is the upcoming availability of Huawei’s first ever smartwatch, the Huawei Watch. This smart timepiece can pretty much stand proud amidst the glowing luxury smartwatches in today’s market. Deep inside, it’s pretty much the same Android Wear specs, except for the higher 400×400 resolution crammed inside a 1.4-inch circle. That said, you will be paying the price for the looks.
Check out the Huawei Watch in our brief hands-on with the luxurious Android Wear timepiece.
Smartwatches: Motorola and Samsung
Speaking of smartwatches, we have quite a few of them here at IFA 2015 as well, but two, or three, definitely bear mentioning. Motorola has finally shown its hand, or wrist rather, with the 2nd Gen Moto 360. It might, however, disappoint some who were expecting the same pioneering innovation that Motorola showed with the first Moto 360. It’s practically still the same smartwatch, but now with more choices when it comes to sizes and customization. The somewhat unexpected (if you didn’t see the last minute leak) addition is the Moto 360 Sport, which, as the name implies, is a more rugged and sporty version of the smartwatch.
More surprising is Samsung’s Gear S2. Not that we didn’t know it was coming, but we certainly didn’t expect that Samsung would concede and make the smartwatch compatible with non-Samsung smartphones. Yes, this Tizen-powered wearable with a rotating bezel can be paired with Android phones running 4.4 KitKat or higher. We won’t expect full compatibility, but it might still go a long way in making the Gear S2 a more appealing product to those who prefer smartphones other than Samsung’s.
Wrap-up
This is just the tip of the iceberg! If we mentioned each notable IFA announcement, we could go on and on. But do head over to our IFA 2015 tag to see the rest of the show, including, for example, the lovable BB-8 robot from Sphero.
IFA 2015 might finally be over, but our journey continues. For one, we’re expecting to hear from Google and its Nexus line later this month. And next month, we’ll also get to hear from Microsoft and see how it plans to shake up the mobile industry. But before that, in a few days we’ll see Apple take the spotlight, which means new challenges and new opportunities for Android.
