Top Tech Trends 2026
What has 1,709 exhibitors packed into 82,000m² spanning 8 buildings – and helps us bring you the best of the best?
Hint: This AV & Systems Integration Show is the biggest in the world and takes place annually in Barcelona, Spain. It is the place to learn, network, and uncover trends.
Give up? Fair enough.
It’s the ISE (Integrated Systems Europe).
Balaklava owner and president recently racked up over 20,000 steps a day attending workshops and visiting the show’s seven “technology zones”: Audio (plus demo rooms), Broadcast AV, Digital Signage & DooH, Lighting & Staging, Multi-Technology, Residential & Smart Buildings, and Unified Communications & Education Technology.
What’s trending?
Of course, there were distinct trends and upgrades: new lighting control keypads and finishes, refined commercial conferencing and control gear, and enhanced video wall capability.
Beyond the specifics, however, there were substantial and recurring themes that popped up during meetings, sessions, and informal, on-floor discussions with exhibitors and fellow integrators.
You can probably guess some of the Top 5.
1) AI, of course and its partner in crime, Cybersecurity
You’ve heard of Artificial Intelligence. Unless maybe you’ve been living in the Brazilian Amazon (in that case, lucky you – well, except for encounters with 550lb anacondas. And, also, how are you reading this?).
Whatever you may think of AI, it isn’t going away. Whether you shake your fist at it or call ChatGPT your bestie, it keeps getting stronger and faster. It’s both beneficial and terrifying.
“AI is not just another tool. It’s a turning point,” Paulino Cuevas shared.
In the world of residential and commercial automation, that means we need to seriously up the ante for your privacy and protection.
2) Humans R us: Human-centric automation
With 90% of our time now being spent indoors, it’s imperative that lighting is done right. Alexander Cadisch, author of The Light Within Us, explained that our cells react to wavelengths. For example, infrared and incandescent turn us into hyper little hummingbirds while blue exhausts us.
Light is “a significant influencer of our cognitive functions and mental health”. Some features of proper illumination include:
- different tones throughout a day, mimicking how light occurs in the natural world
- integrating darkness and contrast to “ground us”, and
- bulb placement at different levels rather than merely overhead.
3) Highlighting health and wellness, ageing at home, and accessibility
Nita Odera, Director of Strategy, Blue Rhine Industries, emphasized the need for holistic planning from the ground up. Universal design incorporates accessibility not as an afterthought but in the very beginning stages.
- Cable clutter makes for tripping
- people of varying heights and ages need screens at different levels, and
- sound showers (“a bubble of crystal-clear sound, seemingly coming from nowhere and everywhere at once”) need to consider those with hearing issues.
As individuals choose to age well at home, voice command technology, devices such as window/door sensors, vertical lighting around doorways, and motion detectors (which scan heat sources and can determine when someone has fallen) have become more popular and necessary.
4) Sustainability: The 3Rs are really 8Rs
It seems that sustainability is more than just a pacifying buzzword in the tech world. Tech companies are being more responsible and creative with packaging, upping marketing through digital means (rather than traditional paper flyers, etc.), designing products to last longer, and leaving a smaller footprint.
The show itself focused on minimizing waste, explaining the need for 8Rs: Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Repurpose, and Recycle.
5) Power management
Rising strain on electricity demands, unreliability, and the cost of electricity all explain why power management is critical. Hybrid models that combine the grid and solar panels with battery backup allow for load-sharing and load-shedding.
What does this mean for you?
The need for a generator is eliminated, and more cold, hard cash fills your pockets. Even more important is peace of mind. When hydro is out for an extensive time, you’ll still be able to make an espresso, wash your clothes, charge your phones, stream the latest episodes, and keep your Wagyu frozen.
How did your guesses at ISE 2026’s top topics go? Any surprises?
If you want to know more, send us an email. We’d be happy to discuss how Balaklava brings you the latest tech, products, techniques, power management tools, knowledge, and cybersecurity.
