Tech companies big and small now struggle to tantalize you with tech without telling you how much it will cost, or—hell—whether you can even buy it. The still-ongoing IFA 2025 tech conference in Berlin proved how merely shipping tech to the U.S. is more tenuous than at any time in the last few decades. From what I saw and heard both on the floor and off, it became clear that the era of plentiful, affordable, and cool shit will melt away in favor of an epoch of dull and ever-more expensive tech.
IFA’s timing lands early in September for tech companies to have the chance to promote their products before the holiday rush. It’s a big conference for European- and Asian-based companies, especially those that focus on smart home tech. For us journalists, IFA is also an opportunity to dive into the weird and wacky products that may or may not float to the U.S. from across the pond.
This year, the annual conference took a different tenor. IFA came months after U.S. tariffs had been causing havoc with pricing on existing products. Future devices won’t just be more expensive; more and more companies indicated they were holding off shipping to the U.S. or were writing off Uncle Sam altogether until things change. It was as if every public relations professional’s toothy smile hid a single word—tariff—whispered but never fully uttered through their teeth.
U.S. policies are leaving us guessing on price and availability
Some international tech giants bearing truly unique products are being barred completely from the States. DJI, the company most known for making drones, has found itself soft-banned from importing gear to the U.S. There’s a long and fraught history with DJI and the U.S. market, but the end result is Americans locked out of an entire line of products. At IFA, DJI had its new Osmo 360 camera proudly displayed. You can go to the DJI store page now, and it currently says “Out of Stock” if you’re checking in from the U.S. DJI has in-store availability slated for the rest of this year, but people in the U.S. won’t be able to easily buy it. At least Insta360 and its Antigravity A1 360-degree camera drone are still getting a U.S. launch.
Some tech companies have managed to cajole President Donald “I’m not a dictator” Trump by heaping praise and gaudy 24K gold statues on the capricious commander in chief. Those companies that haven’t kissed the ring find themselves on the outside. At IFA, we checked out several new products from Roborock, including a new robo lawnmower and a washing machine/dryer combo with a doggy door for a robovac. Neither are coming to the U.S. in the immediate future, the company told us. The U.S. has easily the highest demand for lawnmowers in the world.
Over and over again, I asked companies about U.S. pricing and availability, and was told they didn’t have those details available, at least not yet. Companies like Anker, Mova, and Dreame crafted their own blend of robotic suits for robovacs to help them climb stairs. The Eufy MarsWalker, Dreame CyberX, and Mova Zeus 60 should be around sometime next year. No, of course, there’s no suggested price. Want more wacky gadgets? Too bad. SwitchBot’s Kata Friends, an AI-powered family “pet” that looks like a teddy bear filled with several sensors, still doesn’t have a price or availability for U.S. consumers. The company simply wouldn’t suggest when its products will ever come to the U.S.
That’s not to say it was the case with all tech on the show floor. There are plenty of new gadgets, like these long-lasting Bose headphones, the updated Withings ScanWatch 2, Anker’s Prime power banks, and the massive Nebula X1 Pro will come to the U.S. Companies are more hesitant than ever to even mention prices. TCL’s new QM9K TV should be available “later this month,” but the company refused to provide an idea about price, which is perhaps the most important element of a renowned budget TV brand.
The PC market looked dire at IFA 2025
Unlike with CES, companies don’t have to come to IFA if they hope to make a splash. It’s not a sure sign there are internal or external struggles. But in conversations with companies, it’s clear the only answer they have to Trump’s tariffs is to delay release or obfuscate pricing. Asus launched several laptops at IFA 2024. The company told Gizmodo it was skipping the 2025 show. That wasn’t entirely true, though. Asus’ gaming-centric brand—Republic of Gamers—took up a corner booth space in the back of one of the halls with two Asus ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds on display. The company still refused to say how much it would cost. There’s a reason customers should be concerned.
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