2020 IFA Product Technology Innovation Award Unveils Winners

The global consumer electronics industry took a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic which is still raging in many parts of the world, but is gradually bottoming out and heading up as the impact on the industry fades away, driven by the “stay-at-home economy” and a 5G phone replacement wave. At this important junction of the industry reaching its inflection point, the 2020 IFA Product Technology Innovation Award (IFA-PTIA) unveiled its annual list of award winners that represent important product technology innovations in the industry in the year, identifying key trends of the global electronics industry in the post-pandemic era, such as 8K and QLED TVs taking the center stage, healthy home appliances achieving explosive growth, small home appliances registering strong growth despite weak market environment, and wearable devices booming again.

The IFA-PTIA selection is jointly organized by International Data Group and AHK. According to the organizers, the 2020 IFA-PTIA had “Innovating the Technology, Inspiring the Life” as its theme and covered a full range of products representing new breakthroughs in intelligent and innovative technologies in the global consumer electronics industry, including smart home appliances, intelligent devices, wearables, AI applications, and robotics, which point to an exciting future of endless possibilities for the industry.

The 2020 IFA-PTIA presented a total of 19 awards, which went to 14 brands including SIEMENS, SAMSUNG, Midea, Panasonic, BOE, Electrolux, CHiQ, HONOR, Sony, LG, PHILIPS, De'Longhi, iRobot and TECNO in recognition of their groundbreaking — in terms of technology, design or application – products.  

China-based global consumer electronics brands have continued to be at the forefront of innovation of the industry. Midea wins “Smart Kitchen Solutions Gold Award” for its new Ifamily kitchen system and “User Experience Innovation Product Gold Award” for its Air Conditioning KFR-35GW/BP3DN8Y-XT100(1); HONOR wins “High-performance Innovative Laptop Gold Award” for its MagicBook Pro and “Outdoor Innovation Wearable Gold Award” for its Watch GS Pro; BOE wins “Innovative Display Technology Gold Award” for its Flexible OLED Full-screen Display; CHiQ wins “Design Innovation TV Gold Award” for its 75Q7ART 8K; and TECNO wins “Camera Technology Innovation Smartphone Gold Award” for its CAMON 16 Premier.

In the color TV space, a serious drop in the rigid demand has been the biggest challenge facing the end market in recent years. In 2020, the color TV market remains under a heavy pressure, but the entire industry has been accelerating in its transformation and shift towards diversification. For 8K TVs, for example, SAMSUNG has been a benchmark. The 2020 IFA-PTIA QLED Display Technology Gold Award went to the SAMSUNG QLED 8K Q950TS which was empowered by extensive leading technologies including QLED, HDR10+ and wide color gamut display volume to bring an indulging immersive 8K viewing experience; the 8K AI Quantum Dot processor specially developed by Samsung for the model, in particular, is capable of presenting SD, FHD and UHD/4K video contents in 8K, perfectly solving the resolution conversion issue facing sports event videos which are mostly in 2K or 4K. The CHiQ 75Q7ART 8K is a feat in design innovation thanks to the employment of CHiQ’s proprietary light mixing technology and an innovative layout which achieves a superlative “zero” distance between the TV set and the wall; in configuration, the model boasts 8K resolution, enhanced AI image supplementation and a high-end LPDDR4 processor to deliver an incredible image quality; in addition, it offers 5GB of storage and the combination of 5G module and Wi-Fi chip for even finer image presentation and richer detail; and it also sports a premium JBL audio system that provides a rich audio experience.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has further raised people’s health awareness and increased the demand for high-quality home appliance products with healthy features such as sterilization, purification and filtration as consumers increasingly prefer products highlighting their health and quality features. For example, the 2020 IFA-PTIA presented “Sterilization Technology Innovation Gold Award” to Panasonic Washing Machine NGA5E, “Air Purification Technology Innovation Gold Award” to Panasonic JX2 Series Air Conditioner, “Water Purification Technology Gold Award” to PHILIPS’ AquaShield AWP1830/93 water purifier, and “Smart Cleaning Technology Innovation Gold Award” to iRobot’s Roomba® s Series robot vacuum. All these award recipients are existing products being added new sterilization features which make them preferred choices of upgrading consumers.

The air-conditioner market has also been affected by the pandemic. Confinement to their homes in the epidemic prevention and control efforts has heighted consumers’ awareness of the importance of a healthy home environment, especially respiratory health which is directly related to air-conditioners. Midea’s Air Conditioning KFR-35GW/BP3DN8Y-XT100(1) adopts the 180-degree rotating air duct technology applied in XT which, coupled with a large circulating air volume, solves a range of pain points such as narrow air sweeping range, high temperature in areas which cold air cannot reach, sleep mode leading to high temperature, and noisiness of other modes. Its air outlet features a curved air guide plate to create the Coanda effect by rotation, and a unibody smooth and lengthened air duct which fully rectifies airflow and effectively reduces noise to brings consumers a more comfortable breathing experience.

The kitchen is expressive of people’s love for their family and life, and it is also a place which young people increasingly turn to for relaxation from the pressure of work and life. In the post-pandemic era, in particular, people expect more healthy and intelligent features from their kitchen appliances which make cooking healthier, easier and quicker. In this regard, Midea Ifamily system recommends itself compellingly by comprehensively meeting these needs; it consists of three core kitchen appliances, namely stove, ventilator and dishwasher, which not only boast intelligent features but also work in linkage with each other in a way that instantly makes a beginner cook a good cook and makes cooking both pleasurable and satisfying. Besides, all the Midea products can be connected and controlled via the Midea Smart Home Meiju APP, delivering a digital and intelligent kitchen.

With the advent of the 5G era, smart devices are moving towards thinness, portability and high performance. MagicBook Pro is the first of its kind in terms of “lightness + performance” in the large screen market. The new-generation MagicBook Pro, the world’s first 16.1” AMD Ultrabook, includes the performance mode adjustment function for the first time. In addition to the normal mode, it has the high-power mode under which the laptop offers higher power consumption restriction and fan speed for stronger performance. It meets the different needs of different users on different scenarios for performance, silence and heat dissipation. Thanks to excellent appearance and screen quality, strong performance and heat dissipation, comprehensive and balanced configuration and featured multi-screen collaborative experience.The TECNO CAMON 16 Premier is a smartphone that focuses on providing multi-dimensional camera experiences such as photography and video, Super Portrait Mode, and Professional Video Mode; its ultra-wide 105-degree selfie angle increases the viewing angle by 1.6 times compared to the traditional front-facing camera, and when there are more than three people in the selfie frame, the camera will automatically recognize and switch to the ultra-wide-angle selfie mode to make the selfie look great. It is a worthy recipient of the 2020 IFA-PTIA “Camera Technology Innovation Smartphone Gold Award”.

Steady progress in manufacturing technologies has unlocked more potential of innovation in flexible display in terms of portability and interaction, making the flexible display a key direction of smart device development. BOE not only is the world’s largest LCD panel provider but also has the world’s second OLED line that has been put into mass production. Its Flexible OLED Full-screen Display, which win this year’s IFA-PTIA “Innovative Display Technology Gold Award”, features more than 20 patented technologies, including folded module stacking design technology, ultra-thin touch-sensitive film technology, dual IC cascade drive technology and folded module lamination process technology, and a flexible AMOLED display structure for out-folding devices. The biggest highlight is its ability to be folded with the screen on and with continuous image on the screen. It is 5.4mm thick when spread and only 11mm when folded.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, consumers have paid drastically heighted attention to physical fitness and health, and this trend is set to further increase with the lifting of lockdown measures. As people take more interest in outdoor sports, the once-booming wearable market will boom again. With the iteration of sensors, AI, AR and other key technologies, wearable devices are not only coming with more diversified functions such as biometric identification, health monitoring and data transmission but also taking more diversified forms such as smart glasses, brain-controlled devices, health wearables, body motion controlled devices, and object trackers as well as now common smart watches, smart bands and smart earphones, having a huge potential of development. The HONOR Watch GS Pro, which is crowned with this year’s IFA-PTIA “Outdoor Innovation Wearable Gold Award”, is a sturdy and durable GPS smartwatch that has obtained 14 MIL-STD-810G certifications. It can withstand harsh environment such as low pressure, extreme cold, high heat, sand and dust. Watch GS Pro has over 100 work out modes and 25-day Ultra Long Battery Life. In addition to professional outdoor functions, we have found that Watch GS Pro boasts impressive performance in health monitoring and smart functions. In summary, it features innovative design concepts, professional sports and health functions, and rich experience for daily use.

The pandemic has provided a chance for people to reflect in greater depth on better ways to live and work. Every human crisis has been followed by an upgraded understanding of consumers, and the same pattern will drive the robust development of the global consumer electronics industry in a new direction. The 2020 IFA Product Technology Innovation Award will continue to track global consumer electronics products and industry and empower the development of the industry.