雷科技
The 102nd IFA Berlin (IFA 2026) officially opened on September 4, local time.
Leitech (ID: Leitech) has deployed its “Leitech IFA 26 Reporting Team” on‑site in Berlin to deliver on‑the‑ground, comprehensive and first‑hand coverage of IFA 2026.
As the annual bellwether for the global consumer‑electronics industry, IFA is never short of new products and cutting‑edge tech. From Leitech’s perspective, however, more noteworthy than pure spec‑driven competition among individual products is how Chinese enterprises have evolved their overseas‑market strategies.
The SKYWORTH brand was absent from this year’s IFA. This does not mean Skyworth attaches little importance to the European market; instead, it has evolved a distinctive path for going global. Many still perceive Skyworth’s overseas business merely as “selling TVs abroad”. In reality, Skyworth has long secured two powerful local assets in Europe: METZ, the premium German TV brand, and STRONG, a European smart‑home brand.
(Photograph credit: LeiTech IFA Reporting Team, on-site shoot)
At this edition of IFA, the two brands stepped up their efforts side‑by‑side, laying Skyworth’s global‑strategy cards firmly on the table.
Let’s start with METZ. While the brand may be relatively unfamiliar to Chinese consumers, it is a genuine century‑old icon within Europe’s premium home‑appliance circle, long renowned for rigorous German‑grade craftsmanship and fine‑tuned picture quality.
METZ’s booth at this year’s IFA retained its classic red‑and‑blue dual‑color main visual identity. The contrasting‑color design delivers a strong futuristic tech vibe, and paired with an open‑plan layout, the booth immediately became one of the most crowded spots at the show.
METZ brought nearly its entire premium product lineup to the event. Its OLED portfolio consists of three series: Primus, Aurus and Sirius. As the flagship line, Primus represents top‑tier German craftsmanship in the OLED display space. Notably, METZ has introduced a DLED display concept, short for Deep OLED — essentially an optimized iteration of OLED technology. From Leitech’s point of view, METZ’s move to establish its own technical nomenclature is a clever marketing tactic.
Its UHD product line covers multiple series including Taris, Cubus and Cubus Compact, catering to premium demands across different screen sizes and price points.
(Photograph credit: LeiTech IFA Reporting Team, on-site shoot)
The Mini‑LED segment also saw two flagship offerings: the A9H and Q10H. The former features RGB Mini‑LED technology paired with the Picture‑Frame Ultra display, while the latter comes with SQD‑Mini‑LED and BT, delivering a wide color gamut of 103% BT.2020. Its technical specifications are highly competitive across the whole European market. METZ’s launch of RGB‑Mini‑LED TVs further proves that the RGB‑Mini‑LED technical path is indeed becoming the choice of a growing number of manufacturers.
(Photograph credit: LeiTech IFA Reporting Team, on-site shoot)
From Leitech’s perspective, METZ’s greatest strength lies in the seamless integration of “German precision craftsmanship and Chinese intelligent manufacturing”. Decades‑long accumulated expertise in color management and image optimization inherited from the German brand preserves its premium‑grade positioning. That explains why METZ’s exhibition booth heavily highlights elements such as “Made in Germany” and “German Brand”.
(Photograph credit: LeiTech IFA Reporting Team, on-site shoot)
Meanwhile, Skyworth brings R&D efficiency, supply‑chain capabilities and mass‑production expertise, enabling METZ to quickly keep pace with cutting‑edge technologies and deliver premium specifications with greater competitiveness. This 1+1>2 synergy forms the core of METZ’s solid foothold in Europe’s high‑end market, and also marks a crucial step in Skyworth’s global high‑end breakthrough.
2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the STRONG brand. Much like METZ, it is a well‑established local brand familiar to European consumers. It earned its reputation as “Europe’s set‑top‑box specialist” in its early days and consistently ranked high in set‑top‑box sales charts. Following its acquisition by Skyworth in 2015, STRONG underwent a thorough smart‑technology transformation.
(Photograph credit: LeiTech IFA Reporting Team, on-site shoot)
At this IFA, STRONG has positioned itself as a comprehensive solution provider for home entertainment, network communications and whole‑home smart living with a complete product matrix. More than twenty new products of varying sizes are neatly displayed at its booth, covering nearly all daily‑life needs of average European households.
First comes smart entertainment. Beyond its staple LEAP‑series AI streaming set‑top boxes, STRONG unveiled new LYRA and MIRA home projectors. Paired with the LEAP‑Bar soundbar and subwoofer audio system, ordinary households can build a straightforward home‑theater setup without major renovations.
Next is home networking, a genuine necessity for European families. Its 5G+HOPI and 4G+AIRHOME broadband devices, alongside routers, signal extenders and power‑line adapters, offer solutions to the common pain point of poor Wi‑Fi penetration caused by thick walls in many old European residences.
Also on show is a full suite of smart‑home gear: indoor and outdoor security cameras, the Gemini smart home speaker, Matter‑compliant smart sockets, sensors and smart table lamps. These devices seamlessly connect to mainstream smart‑home ecosystems and fit European users’ usage habits.
Notably, Skyworth’s partnership with Panasonic at this IFA has revealed yet another global‑expansion playbook, as observed by Leitech.
(Photograph credit: LeiTech IFA Reporting Team, on-site shoot)
In February, SKYWORTH and Panasonic announced a strategic partnership in Munich, under which SKYWORTH assumed responsibility for manufacturing, sales, and channel operations of Panasonic TVs across North America and Europe—and jointly developed premium OLED and Mini LED TVs.
At this IFA, these co-developed products made their official debut. Technologies including QD-Mini LED, Glare-Free Ultra anti-glare, and Vivid QLED+ were all implemented. The booth’s minimalist pure-white aesthetic perfectly aligns with Panasonic’s consistent premium brand identity.
SKYWORTH founder Huang Hongsheng once articulated his perspective on internationalization: “Launching products under our own Chinese brand is certainly ideal—but it comes at a steep cost. SKYWORTH’s internationalization strategy focuses on acquiring world-class premium brands long-term. The advantage? Our cost outlay remains extremely low, freeing up more capital for R&D.”
SKYWORTH’s collaboration with Panasonic embodies precisely this strategic philosophy. Moving forward, the two companies will jointly explore additional cutting-edge technologies and products to deliver ever-more immersive audiovisual experiences for consumers in Europe and the United States.
Beyond televisions, SKYWORTH’s IFA showcase—powered by its multi-brand portfolio—featured a broad range of white goods.
Refrigerators, washing machines, washer-dryer combos, and air conditioners were all displayed. Financial reports indicate that SKYWORTH’s overseas smart appliance business surged 42.9% year-on-year in H1 2026, with particularly strong growth momentum in its European white-goods division.
(Photograph credit: LeiTech IFA Reporting Team, on-site shoot)
In H1 2026, SKYWORTH’s overseas revenue reached RMB 10.298 billion—a 27.9% year-on-year increase—making overseas operations a core growth pillar for the group. TV shipments rose 16% year-on-year; its set-top box business ranked among the world’s top performers for the 13th consecutive year; and its photovoltaic business has expanded into over 40 countries and regions globally.
For a long time, when outsiders think of Chinese electronics firms expanding overseas, “cost-effectiveness” is often the first association.
Yet on the IFA show floor, LeiTech (ID: Leitech) observed firsthand that SKYWORTH’s approach goes far beyond simple price-driven market capture. Instead, through acquisitions of local brands and deep strategic partnerships, SKYWORTH achieves bidirectional technology and supply-chain transfer.
In essence, IFA functions like a mirror—reflecting the evolutionary journey of Chinese tech enterprises going global.
From initial commodity exports, to establishing overseas sub-brands, and now to acquiring and partnering with globally established legacy brands—achieving simultaneous export of technology and ecosystem. METZ and STRONG stand as perfect embodiments of SKYWORTH’s strategic evolution.
Over the coming days, the LeiTech IFA Reporting Team will continue delivering real-time coverage of IFA 2026 from Berlin . Stay tuned for more first-hand insights on AI-powered appliances, smart home systems, and AI hardware.
From September 4–8, the world’s largest home appliance and consumer electronics exhibition—IFA 2026—is being held in Berlin.
Recognized as the “most authoritative new media outlet covering IFA” by the global AI community, LeiTech has dispatched its largest and most elite reporting team to date to Berlin. Deploying a “2+N” model—two live hosts plus multiple on-site editors and backend editors—the team delivers real-time, multi-dimensional, and first-hand coverage of IFA 2026. Key focus areas include the integration of AI agents with home appliances and hardware; the convergence of robotics technology with home scenarios; emerging trends in human-vehicle-home digital lifestyles; and the global-stage presence of Chinese brands.
The LeiTech IFA 2026 Reporting Team is currently conducting intensive on-the-ground reporting in Berlin—stay tuned!
