What to expect from IFA 2014 and Motorola: 10 phones, five watches, and more

Rumors, leaks, teaser videos, and even initial announcements have appeared over the last couple of weeks showing that this week will keep smartphone fans busy as many then look to the iPhone 6 announcement the following week.

Most announcements will be coming at IFA in Berlin with four other devices likely being revealed by Motorola in Chicago. Here is a rundown of what we can likely expect this week, in alphabetical order.

Smartphones

• Huawei Ascend Mate 7: The Ascend Mate 2 is an excellent device with a great price and the Mate 7 is rumored to be a large screen successor with a 6 inch 1080p display, 13 megapixel camera, fingerprint scanner, and another massive battery.
  
• LG G3 Stylus: We thought this was going to be a Note 4 competitor, but after LG announced the G3 Stylus we see it is a mid-range option. More details will be shown at IFA.
  
• Lumia 730: This mid-range phone has the codename Superman and has been talked about for a while as the successor to the 720. This is the "selfie" Lumia we have heard about with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
  
• Lumia 830: The Lumia 1020 was targeted to the photographer and the Lumia 830 is said to also focus on the camera, but be more of a mainstream device. It may have a 20-megapixel PureView camera with a large camera module on the back, much like the 1020.
  
• Moto X+1: I still use and love my Moto X, but am also looking forward to seeing what one with improved internal specs looks like. An improvement in the camera is the only major thing I would like to see so hopefully Motorola worked on that feature.
  
• Moto G+: The Moto G is Motorola's best selling smartphone and we will see the next iteration this week in Chicago. It will likely have improved specs, an affordable price, and similar form factor to the G.
  
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Samsung's flagship large smartphone is usually announced at IFA and will be again this year. Samsung puts the top tech in the Note line and we expect to see a 5.7 inch 1440x2560 display with Snapdragon 805 processor and maybe even 4GB of RAM. The S Pen integration will be the most interesting to watch for.
  
• Sony Xperia E3: Sony may reveal a lower-cost model with the E3. Rumors have it running a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 on a 4.8 inch 720x1280 display.
  
• Sony Xperia Z3: Sony's on a six month release cycle at the moment and the Z3 is likely to be shown at IFA. Rumors show the form factor may be the same as the Z2 with improved internal specs. The Z2 never came to any US carriers, but rumors have the Z3 coming to T-Mobile and Sprint.
  
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact: Sony does a good job making its smaller models with internal specs that match the full size model. It is likely the Z3 compact will have a smaller display, but everything else the same as the Z3.

Smartwatches

Most of what we expect to see this week are Android Wear smartwatches, but Samsung is going to also show off a Tizen-based device that works with its smartphones too.

• Asus Zenwatch: Asus will be getting into the Android Wear game with its ZenWatch that may be one of the lowest priced options for consumers.
  
• LG G Watch R: LG already announced this round smartwatch that looks to give the Moto 360 a run for its money. We will see more of this plastic OLED watch at IFA.
  
• Moto 360: Motorola announced the Moto 360 back in June at Google I/O and it looks like we are finally going to see this highly anticipated smartwatch hit the streets.
  
• Samsung Gear S: Samsung already announced this Tizen-based smartwatch with integrated cellular radio. This is not an Android Wear device, but a watch that works with Samsung devices. The Nike+ support is interesting and may help support it as a standalone watch.
  
• Sony Smartwatch 3: Sony was one of the first with a smartwatch so it will be interesting to see how far it has come with this third generation model. It will be an Android Wear device with the display rumored to be 1.68 inches at 320x320 resolution.

Other mobile gear

There will likely be plenty of related accessories and Android tablets shown off at IFA, but here is a list of some that we believe will make an appearance.

• Motorola headset: We do not yet know much about this headset, but it is one of the four icons that Motorola showed on its event invitation. With the always-on listening functionality of the Moto X, I wonder if Motorola will extend this to a Bluetooth headset to extend the distance you can control your Moto X.
  
• Samsung Gear Circle: Samsung announced this Bluetooth stereo headset that has a magnetic clasp to make it easier to transport.
  
• Samsung Gear VR headset: Samsung may show off the results of its virtual reality project at IFA. It is likely that you will be able to place a Note 4 or Galaxy S5 into the headset to view content.
  
• Sony SmartBand Talk: Sony's SmartBand is its fitness tracking band and this successor is rumored to have a curved e-Ink display. Its first band had no display. The talk in the name may reveal some other functionality as well.
  
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact: Sony may launch a smaller Android tablet with waterproof functionality.

I will be traveling to Chicago to cover the Motorola announcements in person and will get the opportunity to get some hands-on time with the devices so stay tuned for more coverage later this week.

As you can see, there will be plenty to talk about next week and hopefully the conversations continue after Apple reveals its iPhone 6 on September 9th.