Gadget fans prepare for unveiling of thousands of new gizmos at IFA conference in Berlin

A HOST of new smartphones and wearables from Sony, Samsung and others are set to be unveiled this week as the IFA consumer electronics show begins in Berlin.

The annual trade show is one of the largest in Europe and is due to see major new smartphone launches from Sony, who are expected to unveil the newest version of their Xperia Z range, as well as flagship smartwatches from both Samsung and Huawei.

The new LG V20, which is set to be one of the first phones to ship with the next version of Android’s mobile operating system – 7.0 Nougat – is also expected to be shown off during the event, which was visited by more than 245,000 people last year.

The event gives the public the chance to see and try out new devices for the first time, well ahead of their on-sale dates.

Samsung are expected to unveil the Gear S3 smartwatch, as well as a range of new TVs, while Chinese manufacturer Huawei will further attempt to increase their presence in Europe with a follow-up to the Mate 8 smartphone, as well as a new version of the Huawei Watch, which the firm introduced at IFA last year.

Fitness tracker giant Fitbit has already revealed two new wearable devices which will be on show at IFA, as well as a range of new accessories designed to make the trackers more fashionable, while Motorola is expected to announce a new version of its Moto 360 smartwatch.

The array of announcements comes just days ahead of Apple hosting their own event on September 7, where the tech giant will announce the next generation of iPhone – one that is rumoured to have removed the headphone jack in order to make the phone thinner, as well as added a second camera lens to the rear of the larger Plus.