LG G8 ThinQ Utilizes Its Display As An Amplifier To Crank Boombox Speaker Audio
So much attention in the smartphone space is paid to Apple and Samsung, but lest anyone forget that LG is also player in the premium phone market, the company is waving around its upcoming G8 ThinQ with an innovative feature that promises to deliver "exceptional smartphone audio."
The LG G8 ThinQ will be the company's first phone to feature a Crystal Sound OLED (CSO) display contraption. What makes this technology unique is that it leverages the phone's OLED panel as an audio amplifier. This apparently has several benefits for the audio experience, including higher volume levels, deeper bass, and cleaner audio.
"Developed in-house by LG, CSO repurposes the OLED display as a diaphragm, vibrating the entire surface to produce sound with impressive volume. And because LG’s unique technology takes advantage of the entire display, CSO also improves clarity, making voices easier to discern and subtle musical notes more noticeable," LG says.
According to LG, in speakerphone mode the G8 ThinQ delivers full-bodied stereo performance through a 2-channel audio setup utilizing the bottom speaker and the top part of the display. LG also said it worked closely with audio partner Meridian to fine tune the phone's audio.
A few other touted features include:
- DTS:X 3D Surround Sound that emulates a 7.1-channel system with or without earphones, a first for LG
- Hi-Fi Quad DAC that elevates the listening experience by reproducing sound with exceptional fidelity and the added ability to up-sample most audio files for increased clarity and depth
- Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) that supports high-quality audio streaming even without an unlimited data plan
- Boombox Speaker that takes advantage of the internal space of the phone as a resonance chamber to generate amazing bass and more volume
We are crossing our fingers that the G8 ThinQ lives up to the hype. Smartphone audio is sort of all over the map—sound quality and volume can vary dramatically from one model to the next, and even a simple thing like front-facing speakers can improve the experience.
As for the rest of the phone, we only have the recently leaked press renders by Evan Blass (@evleaks on Twitter) to go by right now. Shown at the top of this article, we can see a notched design on the front of the phone, a dual-camera arrangement and fingerprint sensor on the back, and a 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom. While some phone models have gone away from the 3.5mm audio jack, LG is wisely including one on the G8 ThinQ, which is apparently relying on audio performance to separate itself from the pack.
As this will be a flagship phone, we anticipate it being powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 processor. However, we have clue what the RAM and storage configuration will look like, or what size battery LG will shove inside.
LG is expected to launch the G8 ThinQ during Mobile World Congress (MWC) later this month.
