Fast Charge: 4 big phone launches we could see at IFA 2019

After a quiet summer where the Galaxy Note 10 was pretty much the only important release, we’re finally approaching the busiest time of the year for tech. But before we get into the launch of the iPhone 11 or Huawei Mate 30 there’s the huge IFA 2019 gadget show in Berlin to contend with.

Unlike Mobile World Congress, IFA isn’t a show dedicated to launching the latest and greatest smartphones. Instead, it’s far more about smart home tech, home appliances and audio kit.

That’s not to say we’re expecting any phones to get a surprise announcement during the show. Here are all the devices we could see light up Berlin next week.

1. LG V60

LG loves IFA. It uses the show to announce a whole load of tech and it’s already kicked off its 2019 show with the launch of a fridge that’ll create ‘craft’ ice cubes for your cocktails.

The Korean brand has also teased that a new smartphone will be at the show that’ll utilise the Dual Screen accessory which was first unveiled along with the LG v50. Rumours seem to suggest this will be the LG V60, and that it could end up being the flagship to beat at IFA 2019.

2. Sony Xperia 2

This one seems like a longshot, however we do know from past releases that Sony doesn’t mind unleashing multiple flagship phones within a few months of each other.

The Sony Xperia 1 – which happened to be the best phone Sony Mobile has released in years – was first announced at MWC in February and then released during the early months of summer, so if Sony continues its previous twice-yearly flagship update schedule the successor could be announced at IFA.

We know that Sony has a press conference set for the show, and that it has a history of using IFA to launch new phones – so maybe we could see the Sony Xperia 2 after all?

3. A load of phones from Nokia

Nokia has already revealed it’ll be launching a multitude of new devices during its IFA 2019 conference. The below tweet mentions we’ll see a ‘mix of smart and feature phones’.

Nokia (or at least HMD Global) likes to bring back iconic phones from the brand’s past, so could we be seeing a phone following in the footsteps of the 3310 remake?

We're introducing new members to the family at this year’s IFA event in Berlin. Expect a mix of smart and feature phones – can you guess which one this will be? #IFA19 #NokiamobileLive pic.twitter.com/jF9iROacVZ

— Nokia Mobile (@NokiaMobile) August 28, 2019

4. Huawei Mate 30 (or more likely the chip that’ll power it)

Rumours about Huawei’s Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus rival have been constant over the past few weeks, but we doubt it’ll actually make an appearance at the show.

Huawei recently has preferred launching its devices at lavish standalone events, rather than piggybacking on mass trade-shows, and we’d expect the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro to follow this trend and get an official launch later in the year.

Instead, Huawei is more likely to show off its next flagship Kirin chipset. This chipset will likely power the Mate 30 and next year’s Huawei P40 and P40 Pro. Huawei did a similar thing at last year’s IFA, highlighting the Kirin 985 chip alongside a cheaper, mid-range Mate 20 Lite.

We could also get a firm date for the Mate 30 launch, an update on the situation with Google and possibly another look at the brand’s new Harmony OS.

Fast Charge is our weekly mobile-focussed look at the news, rumours and everything else from the world of phones, wearables and tablets. It’ll be live every Saturday morning.