BERLIN -- The IFA, Europe’s largest electronics show, ended Wednesday in Berlin. Even though there were no big announcements, it was enough for visitors to get a hint of future home appliances.

Korea’s Samsung and LG prevailed with pioneering products such as organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, TVs and smart home solutions. LG’s exhibition hall, painted in black for the dramatic expression of OLED’s perfect blackness, was one of the most crowded booths. 

Chinese firms further strengthened their presence. Buoyed by the growing Chinese influence, the IFA organizing committee decided to hold its first Chinese version event in the southern city of Shenzhen in April next year.

Another distinctive feature of this year’s IFA was unarguably the push for revival by Japanese companies. After years of keeping a low profile, Sony and Panasonic, in particular, poured more new products than ever, showing renewed vigor.

OLED TV

LG Electronics was the sole major producer of OLED TVs last year. But this year at the IFA, Japanese TV maker Panasonic unveiled its first OLED TV, while Chinese makers like Skywalls, Changhong, Haier and HySense and Turkey’s Vestel showcased their own versions of the product.

OLEDs don’t require a backlight, so it offers nearly infinite color contrast and perfect blackness. The overall design is also slimmer and thinner than liquid crystal displays, or LCDs. But its tricky panel production has made most TV makers, including the No. 1 Samsung, stick to LCD TVs for better profits.

LG plans to sell some 500,000 OLED TVs this year, almost a fivefold increase from the previous year. The company predicted improved panel yield rate to further lower TV prices next year, aiming to sell more than 1 million unit sales.

Samsung, which ditched its OLED TV production in 2013, is also said to be gauging the marketability of the still nascent TV technology. Industry watchers said Panasonic’s entry could affect its local rival Sony and finally Samsung, considering the current premium TV market is dominated by Korean and Japanese players.

HDR

Competition was heated between OLED and LCD as TV makers touted their technology as a better fit for high dynamic range, or HDR, which is widely seen as the next generation of home video content after 4K.

As 4K offers four times the resolution of high-definition, or HD, TVs, HDR also offers even better contrast, though standards are still being worked out. 

The world’s top two TV makers -- Samsung and LG -- unveiled their first HDR TVs soon to be launched. LG claimed OLED’s perfect blackness best realizes HDR, while Samsung continued pitching its LCD-based Ultra HD TVs offering quality resolution to the same measure as OLED.

The two Korean tech giants have clashed over panel types, creating different global alliances with other TV makers.

LG and its OLED alliance members, including Panasonic, use the WRGB panel design, which adds white color subpixels to the standard red, green and blue. But Samsung still prefers the RGB three-color panel system that has dominated since color TVs hit the market.

Because HDR should be supported by content, TV makers are also teaming up with video streaming services like Netflix and broadcasting stations.

Circular smartwatch

Now the competition seems to be between square and round. With the square-faced Apple Watch gobbling up the still nascent smartwatch market, its rivals are going round to take on the market leader.

Samsung, which was the first to produce smartwatches for the mass-market, unveiled its new Gear S2 smartwatch with a completely circular design.

While adding a more classical look and feel, the company offers diverse features customized for the round display running on its Tizen-based wearable platform. The key to the new device is the rotating bezel ring that helps with navigation.

LG, which has long adopted a circular display for its smartwatches, wrapped off its $1,200 Urbane Luxe that comes encased in a layer of 23-karat gold and an alligator leather strap.

China’s Huawei also unveiled its Huawei Watch with a round face. It was the most “classic” looking of the three devices.

Industry watchers say the success of the circular design largely depends on new apps. But there are mixed reactions to the classic push on design that mimics traditional timepieces.

Smart home 

At IFA, all home appliances makers devoted a critical corner of their exhibition space to present their vision for a smart home based on the hot Internet of Things technology.

Big names such as Samsung and LG introduced their own smart home sensors that connect home appliances and smartphones via the Internet for more efficient and convenient control. 

Samsung’s SLEEPsense attracted many visitors. The sleep tracker, a small circular device, can be attached under the bed mattress and analyzes the quality of sleep, including heart and respiratory rates, and movements in bed, and in the morning provides a report, together with some recommendations from experts.

LG also showcased its first smart oven and air conditioner products that work on AllJoyn, an IoT platform used by AllSeen Alliance, the world’s largest IoT alliance of some 180 global home appliances makers.

On the new platform, the company plans to launch SmartThinQ Sensors that help home appliances communicate through mobile apps within the year in Korea.

The two companies said their IoT-based businesses could see profits from this year. 

By Lee Ji-yoon, Korea Herald corresnpondent (jylee@heraldcorp.com)