BERLIN — The holiday shopping season is still months away. But the world’s technology giants are already trying to position their latest smartphones, televisions and other devices for their annual push to consumers around the globe.
Many of their newest products are on show at the IFA consumer electronics show here, which offers companies like Samsung, Panasonic and Sony the last big showcase of the year for their gadgets. About 250,000 visitors are expected to attend the show during its six-day run.
But there is an undercurrent of anxiety as companies flaunt their wares, particularly in the mobile devices market.
Even as more people worldwide connect to the Internet through smartphones and tablets, consumer spending has started to slow, and even decline in some segments. Many people are tightening their belts and opting for cheaper models instead of the latest high-priced smartphones from the likes of Samsung Electronics.
‘‘Competition remains tough,’’ said Roberta Cozza, a director at the technology research company Gartner. ‘‘Unless you can offer people true innovation, there is little loyalty for one brand over another.’’
Apple, of course, continues to use its marketing mojo to try to keep itself above the fray. The company, which shuns shows like the one here, is choosing to shine the spotlight solely on itself on Tuesday, when it plans to introduce a smartwatch and two bigger-screen iPhones in Cupertino, Calif.
Other tech giants, including Microsoft and Sony, are struggling to fend off increased competition from emerging-market rivals.
“Everyone knows that the demand for high-priced devices over $300 isn’t growing,’’ said Dan Dery, the chief marketing officer for the handset maker Alcatel One Touch, whose least expensive smartphones retail for less than $100. ‘‘The market for devices that cost less than $200 is where things are booming.”
In total, global spending on consumer electronics, including mobile devices and more traditional technology like televisions, is projected to dip slightly this year, to $1.05 trillion, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group. The decline is primarily driven by mature markets like the United States and Europe, where spending will drop 4 percent annually.
And even in emerging markets, spending on the new gadgets is only expected to rise 2 percent this year compared with a 9 percent jump last year.
Nonetheless, tech companies are making different strategic bets on how to contend with consumers’ demand for mobile products.
Samsung, the South Korean company that is the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, doubled down on its high-priced devices during the last week when it introduced a new large-screen devices ahead of the IFA conference.
As the main competitor to Apple, Samsung is hoping that it can continue to attract consumers who are willing to pay top dollar for devices that routinely cost more than $500 without a carrier contract.
Samsung also released a virtual-reality device in Berlin, which uses technology from Oculus VR, a start-up bought by Facebook this year for $2 billion.
Analysts say that such add-ons may help cement Samsung’s position in the premium handset market, though the company recently warned that it faced declining profit because of sluggish phone sales.
‘‘Even for Samsung, it’s a crowded market,’’ said Neil Mawston, a mobile analyst at the research company Strategy Analytics. ‘‘Everyone’s phones look the same. It’s difficult to differentiate yourself.’’
Other tech companies are forgoing high-priced phones to focus on the mass market.
Microsoft, which recently completed its $7.5 billion deal for Nokia’s handset unit, is rolling out several phones in Berlin that retail from $259 to $390. The move comes as the American tech giant has struggled to get people to switch to its Windows Phone operating system, which trails as a distant third to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android software.
Chris Weber, Microsoft’s head of mobile device sales, said that the new products, which offer many of the features like powerful mobile cameras already available on Microsoft’s higher priced devices, would help to set the company apart from rivals that rely on Google’s Android software.
‘‘We want to drive scale through affordable phones,’’ Mr. Weber said. ‘‘We’ve created a product for someone who doesn’t want to pay a premium from our competitors.’’
Yet this push by Microsoft and other brands such as HTC and Sony toward cheaper phones has pitted them against emerging Asian rivals that can often outmuscle them on price.
In recent years, Chinese companies like ZTE and Huawei have flooded the developing world with low-cost Android phones that can cost less than $100. Now, these Asian tech giants want to branch out into more mature markets.
During the IFA conference this year, ZTE introduced a series of cheap handsets starting at around $130 in a bid to attract cost-conscious consumers in both developed and emerging markets.
In contrast, Huawei — the world’s third-largest maker of smartphones behind Samsung and Apple — introduced a number of devices aimed at Western markets that cost up to $660 without a carrier contract.
Analysts said the Chinese company, which also builds mobile network infrastructure around the world, was trying to break the current duopoly of Apple and Samsung in the high-end phone market.
And in a sign of Asian handset makers’ growing strength, the Chinese manufacturer Xiamoi recently became the largest smartphone producer ahead of Samsung in the booming Chinese domestic market, according to the research company Canalys.
‘‘A lot of these Chinese players have big ambitions,’’ Mr. Mawston of Strategy Analytics said. ‘‘They pose significant opposition for many of the other handset makers.’’