Events
What to expect for the CONQuest Festival 2023
An invitation for a three day trip to the skies!
Last year, AcadArena took their yearly shindig to the next level as the CONQuest Festival 2022 went face-to-face. Of course, it’s safe to say that the team did not disappoint by bringing an entire community together and in full strength. The question now is how do you top 2022’s massive success? As they say, “nowhere to go but up”, and that’s exactly what the CONQuest Festival 2023 is going to do!
Prominent Guest Lineup + a Music Night!
After many months of teasing, the team behind CONQuest unveiled the full list of content creators that will be gracing the three-day convention. The headliners for this year include some of the most well-known personalities in both gaming and Esports, such as Pokimane, Valkyrae, Fuslie, and several members of the renowned content house, OfflineTV. Also, the popular VALORANT streamer-turned-one-time-pro Kyedae was announced to return for this year.
See: CONQuest 2023 guests, performers revealed
Apart from these lovely creators, some of Southeast Asia’s most popular content creators, streamers, and cosplayers will grace the convention once more. On top of this, the CONQuest Festival 2023 will also have its own Music Night with a lineup of musical acts that will surely bring the beat!
The Activity Zones
Similar to last year’s event, several zones and activities return to the main stage of CONQuest. On the gaming side of things, there are zones for freeplay and retro arcade games for you to play with friends. Also, the team will be providing a full Expo Floor dedicated to tech brands and game developers to let you in on their latest projects.
On the Esports side of things, AcadArena’s Alliance Games will once again culminate during CONQuest’s main set of activities. Apart from this, there will be opportunities for you to see your favorite streamers in Celebrity Showmatches and even visit the StreamZone.
Finally, no gaming convention is complete without the MeetZone, an avenue for everyone to see their beloved creators and interact with them face-to-face. This zone will also host some of the different panels and workshops lined up for those who are interested in taking them. Also, for those who applied and were granted the CONQuest-sponsored scholarships, these will be awarded by Rae and Leslie during their MeetZone timeslots.
See: AcadArena unveils two new scholarships for young gamers
Event Details and Accommodation Discounts
This year’s CONQuest Festival, aptly named “Sky Islands” will return to the SMX Convention Center for the main festivities. Unlike last year, the team has expanded the event to other nearby venues such as the Conrad Hotel within the SM Mall of Asia complex. Also, this year’s CONQuest will be three days (last year was just two days), running from June 2-4, 2023.
Tickets for the event are PhP 800 for each day of the festival, with a Three-Day Pass worth PhP 2,000. To attend Music Night, you will need to purchase this as an add-on for Day 2 worth PhP 5,000. If you’re after the full experience, Premium Passes are available for PhP 20,000. Each Premium Pass gives you entry for all three days and Music Night, a Merch Package, and priority in all MeetZone events.
If you fear the venue is too far from where you live, don’t worry: the team also arranged for special discounts you can avail when booking a stay in their partnered hotels. You can enjoy 15% off your stay within the Conrad Hotel or a 50% discount for Hotel 101 – Manila, which is not too far from the venue.
So better hurry and grab your passes, secure your stay, and we’ll #SeeYouInTheSkies!
Editors' Choice
GadgetMatch Awards: Best of IFA 2026
Xiaomi 18 Fold, Govee, XGIMI, ARZOPA, Cuktech and more!
We’re back at IFA 2026 in Berlin, checking out some of the coolest and most interesting tech on the show floor.
From smart home lighting and portable displays to projectors, power solutions, foldables, and more, these are some of the products and brands that caught our attention this year.
In this video, we take a look at:
- AI Lighting https://bit.ly/4xmY342
- Z3FC Portable Monitor https://bit.ly/4gRk7wD
- D14 Digital Photo Frame https://bit.ly/4qYlRJ6
- 30 Ultra Desktop Charging Station https://s.whaee.com/tXBornw
- 10 Ultra Charger https://s.whaee.com/UsWT4U2
** Use code CUKTECH09, valid until September 30
XGIMI
ASUS x NVIDIA RTX SPARK
- ProArt P16: https://asus.click/h7607_gm
- ProArt P14: https://asus.click/h7407_gm
- ProArt GR1X
Watch until the end for our favorite finds from IFA 2026!
IFA 2026
LG’s AI Home vision comes to life at IFA 2026 with innovative showcase
For a smarter, more connected experience
LG Electronics went all-out at IFA 2026, showcasing various offerings across different portfolios to highlight its AI Home vision of a smarter and more connected experience.
LG presented the next evolution of this AI Home vision, with focus on bringing together AI-powered appliances for a connected experience.
Visitors at IFA 2026 were able to explore LG’s immersive AI Home spaces, spanning living, kitchen, and rest zones.
For its 2026 LG AI TV lineup, the company highlighted its new α11 AI Processor Gen3, the most powerful AI TV engine yet.
This drives LG’s refined picture quality-enhancing technologies. This processor brings advanced picture quality enhancements to LG’s ultra-large Micro RGB evo TVs.
The processor features faster, more precise video processing with a 5.6-fold improvement in NPU performance, plus improvements in CPU and GPU capabilities.
The 2026 AI TV lineup also incorporates a number of user-centric AI features, including Voice ID, A Chatbot, and AI Concierge.
Immersive media entertainment offerings featured the LG OLED evo AI. But at the center of the Media Entertainment Zone is the Wallpaper OLED TV with True Wireless called the LG OLED W6.
LG is also expanding its gaming monitor offerings with the world’s first UltraGear monitor supporting both FHD resolution and a 1,000Hz refresh rate.
AI Home vision
At the heart of the AI Home vision is the newly-introduced ThinQ Claw. This new text chat-based AI agent experience further enriches and expands the company’s AI Home offering.
ThinQ Claw interprets updates shared by the user within the context of their personal life. This enables the agent to recommend or help initiate appropriate actions aligned with personal preferences.
All interactions are protected by the LG Shield security framework which helps protect connected appliances, services, and customer data.
Moreover, the AI Home Zone highlighted Homey, a smart home platform developed by Athom, which LG acquired in 2024.
Homey allows users to manage diverse products from different manufacturers and service providers in one place.
Innovation in tune with you
Speaking of AI Home, LG showcased actual offerings to help visitors visualize the connected ecosystem better.
At the booth entrance is the LG AI Orchestra which unfolds a 16-meter by 4-meter kinetic LED installation, where LG CLOiD serves as conductor of a connected ecosystem.
In the AI Home Zone, there’s the LG ThinQ ON AI home hub and LG ThinQ platform, alongside the expanded Fit & Max Solution.
The Energy Leadership Zone also put the spotlight on LG’s high-efficiency core technologies for its appliances.
There’s the Dual Inverter Heat Pump and inverter compressor solutions. The exhibit included a washing machine that uses up to 70% less energy.
High-efficiency refrigerators, dryers, and dishwashers designed to deliver strong performance while using fewer energy resources were also displayed.
LG SIGNATURE, Fit & Max lines
At LG’s more premium experience area, the LG SIGNATURE refrigerator was the center of attention.
This refrigerator brings LLM-based conversational AI to premium kitchens, offering a look at the expanding role of AI appliances as part of LG’s AI Home vision.
A 6.8-inch LCD display also supports LG’s AI-powered cooling management.
Another next-generation LG SIGNATURE offering is the Downdraft Hood kitchen hood, which captures smoke and odors directly at the cooking surface.
Optimized airflow and motor control then support effective extraction with quiet operation.
Other refrigerators include the LG Fit & Max French-door refrigerator with a Zero Clearance design.
This features Dual FRESHConverter+ for optimized food preservation, with independently controlled compartments that can be set to different preset temperature modes.
Also under the Fit & Max portfolio is the Fit & Max dishwasher which combines a seamless built-in design with a 1-Hour Wash & Dry cycle for efficient everyday use.
It uses QuadWash Pro for micro-bubbles to help detergent penetrate food residue. Hybrid Air Dry, meanwhile, improves air circulation to shorten drying time.
IFA 2026
Xiaomi makes IFA debut, showcasing ‘Human x Car x Home’ ecosystem
Xiaomi continues to invest in AI for everyday experiences
Xiaomi officially made its debut at IFA 2026 in Berlin, Germany with over 3,300 square meters of exhibition space.
The company brought together more than 380 products, forward-looking technologies, and real-world demonstrations.
The exhibition was organized around three major areas: AI Tomorrow, AI Today, and “Human x Car x Home”. Together, these areas took visitors from future-facing concepts to intelligent experiences that are readily available.
The entire showcase also demonstrates how AI can coordinate devices and services across different environments to create more intuitive everyday life experiences.
AI Tomorrow, for instance, explores the future of intelligent mobility through Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo. This highlighted new possibilities at the intersection of automotive design, performance technology, and digital experiences.
AI Today, meanwhile, showcased the Xiaomi SU7 Max and home environments. These included the kitchen, living room, bedroom, and study areas. The section demonstrated how AI can coordinate personal devices, cars, and smart home products around everyday scenarios.
Moreover, Xiaomi’s “Human x Car x Home” portfolio brings together more than 380 products across seven categories:
- cooking and food storage
- home cleaning
- air management
- audiovisual entertainment
- safety and security
- personal devices
- smart mobility
The smart ecosystem is a user-centered intelligent ecosystem that connects such products. They use AI and Xiaomi HyperOS to enable devices and services to work together across the entire ecosystem.
Mijia expands in Europe
At IFA 2026, Xiaomi also announced the large-scale expansion of its smart home brand, Mijia, in Europe.
The brand brings together human-centric intelligence, proven quality, and essential design to create smart home experiences that feel more natural, intuitive, and dependable.
Mijia currently covers over 2,000 products across more than 130 product categories, all connected through a shared ecosystem.
Advancing AI, investing in long-term R&D
As AI continues to evolve, Xiaomi believes AI should go beyond just answering questions on the screen and understand real-world context better.
The aforementioned ecosystem provides an important foundation for this transition. By connecting multiple devices around the same user, the ecosystem provides a foundation for AI to understand context across different scenarios and coordinate multiple devices to complete tasks.
This core concept was showcased in detail at IFA through real-world scenarios involving simple tasks.
Furthermore, Xiaomi is investing more than EUR 24 billion for global R&D from 2026 to 2030, recognizing the importance of the European market.
This investment spans AI, OS, in-house semiconductor capabilities, smart vehicles, robotics, and smart manufacturing.
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