Tag Archives: LG

LG unveils Retrofuturistic Jukebox at CES 2024 with tube amplifiers and a transparent OLED display

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When LG isn’t making televisions that fold into briefcases, they’re working on other oddball projects like this rather eclectic jukebox that simultaneously relies on vintage vacuum tube amps for retro-style warm audio, and a transparent OLED display on the front that lets you view the album art and control playback, but also see the magical hardware behind. The DukeBox, as LG calls it, will make its grand debut at CES this year, along with other new devices that LG has been teasing in the past.

Designer: LG

The DukeBox is a unique proof of concept for a high-end speaker that rivals the likes of Devialet and B&O when it comes to building an experience around listening to music. It’s vaguely reminiscent of the Lyric Speaker from back in 2017, but instead puts a transparent screen in FRONT of the speaker’s hardware, with the ability to adjust the transparency depending on your mood. The speaker’s highlight remains the tube amplifiers encased within it, although it also boasts a large front-facing speaker at the bottom and a set of 360° tweeters on top that fill your room with booming sound. The display on the front can also be used in a variety of ways, ranging from displaying semi-transparent album art and playback information, to something a little more seasonal like a roaring fireplace. There’s no word on the DukeBox’s pricing, although if LG plans on selling it, expect this retrofuturistic audiophile’s dream to cost a pretty penny.

Image Credits: LG

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LG gram Pro laptops bring AI chops to lightweight computers, still over 1kg

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Some brands stick around whether the original meaning of the name no longer makes sense. Products associated with those brands still carry some expectation, whether it’s a certain flavor, a particular quality, or just some trait that’s passed like DNA from generation to generation. That’s definitely the case with the LG gram, the consumer electronics giant’s line of laptops initially boasting weights of less than a kilo. It didn’t really take long before physics and market dynamics pushed those laptops beyond the 1,000-gram mark, while still trying hard to maintain their thin and stylish bodies. Fortunately, the added weight also adds some value, as the new gram Pro laptop and 2-in-1 try to prove with a lot of power and some AI special sauce that’s quite the hot trend these days.

Designer: LG

To be fair, it’s difficult to keep a laptop impossibly slim while still packing enough power to handle everyday workloads, especially as work becomes more demanding and hardware gets stronger to keep up. Manufacturers are forced to choose between performance, which includes cooling systems, and design, and most tend to pick the former. In that context, it’s actually quite commendable that LG is able to stick to the spirit of its original gram design, even if none of the laptops today weigh less than a kilo.

The 2024 LG gram Pro line at least makes the weight worthwhile, at least for computer users who are heavily dependent on AI-powered tasks. These laptops are equipped with the latest Intel Boost, the chipmaker’s neural processing unit or NPU that can handle heavy AI workloads without depending on cloud-based services. This results in faster results and more privacy since everything happens on the device and can work without an Internet connection.

This year’s LG gram Pro generation still combines the best specs you can find in a laptop, including Intel’s Core Ultra processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, a combo that will be killing it when it comes to creative digital work as well as games. This will make things quite hot, which could affect performance in the long run. A dual cooling system is LG’s answer to this problem and the fact that it could squeeze that solution into a thin laptop definitely deserves some praise.

In addition to the standard 16-inch and 17-inch LG gram Pro laptops, the line welcomes a new 16-inch LG gram Pro 2-in-1 that can fold over into a tablet, complete with a touch screen and wireless pen. Both models sport minimalist aesthetics that exude a character of elegance and style that belies the power they carry inside. That same design language is also available in non-Pro gram laptops that have smaller 14-inch and 15-inch options.

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LG CineBeam Qube 4K projector doubles as a curious design piece

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Projectors have been around for almost decades, but it has only been recently that they’ve started to move out of offices and into living rooms. With the advent of home projectors, however, came the need for newer designs that make these utilitarian boxes fit with your interior design better. Some brands have indeed started to do that, but it takes more than just using glossy surfaces or wrapping the boxes with fabric-like materials. Ideally, you really have to think outside the box and adopt a design that barely looks like a typical home projector, like the new LG CineBeam Qube 4K that’s meant to look like a stylus art object when simply sitting on your table or shelf, whether or not you’re using it.

Designer: LG

Smart home projectors have started to become more aware of how they need to blend in with the rest of your furniture or home decor. Some have tried to embrace more luxurious-looking materials that make the appliances look a little more stylish, but few can escape the traditional boxy shapes that projectors come in. Admittedly, it’s not that easy to break away from this form due to technical reasons, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick to the bulky horizontal design of most projectors.

The LG CineBeam Qube 4K is an example of a design that breaks from the mould while still sticking to the norm. It’s still a rectangular box and less a cube as its name might imply, but it stands upright rather than lying low. It’s also quite tiny, compared to your run-of-the-mill laser projectors, so it can discreetly stand beside your books on a shelf and get out of the way when you don’t need it. The point, however, is that you won’t have to put it away during those periods of rest because the CineBeam Qube is designed to look great even while just standing there.

The projector has a rather industrial aesthetic, with a metallic silver chassis and a black facade where the large lens lies smack in the middle. There is an odd lever structure wrapping around the back of the box, most likely a handle that lets you pick up the projector and move it around in style. Its beauty won’t appeal to everyone, but it will at least grab people’s attention the moment they see it.

Despite its small size, the LG CineBeam Qube claims to pack quite a punch, including 4K resolution and a maximum projection size of 120 inches. The 500 ANSI lumens brightness, however, means you’ll only use it indoors in a dark room. It’s a smart projector so you’ll have access to plenty of content, both from streaming services as well as connected devices. And when you’re not using it to watch shows, you can use its image-mapping function to display images and photos that add some life to your dark space.

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LG’s game-changing house robot is a secret smart AI agent with numerous tricks up its sleeves

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I had an idea about what’s possible with AI and machine learning integration. What I didn’t know, until today, was that LG is committed to realizing a vision of “Zero Labor Home” with robotics and artificial intelligence. Does that sound safe is a discussion for another day, but what’s on the horizon (as progress in the direction) is the pre-CES announcement of a smart home AI agent from LG.

The AI agent is a cute little robot with large googly eyes that LG has outfitted with multi-modal technologies for autonomous mobility, advanced communication, and engaging functions to help homeowners with daily chores. A home manager and companion robot to say, the LG’s two-legged, wheeled agent can “move, learn, comprehend and engage in complex conversations.”

Designer: LG

This interesting robotic figure with a headphone-like carrying handle over the head has articulated leg joints for free and independent mobility. The AI robot is based on Qualcomm Robotics RB5 development kit enabling face and companion recognition. This means that the LG smart agent can recognize users, understand and express emotions, and interact verbally. For instance, it “greets homeowners at the front door, discerns their emotions by analyzing their voice and facial expressions, and selects music or other content to suit their mood.”

“Embedded with the ability to process natural language, the robotic smart home AI agent can “understand context and intentions” to “actively communicate with users.” This is made possible with built-in sensors, camera, and a speaker. These together also put a lot of other interesting aspects to the robotic abilities of the AI agent. It can double as a mobile smart hub in the house allowing you to connect with and control IoT devices, and note temperature, indoor air quality, and humidity.

Since the little guy can move around the house quite like the humans, it can patrol the confines on your behalf to notify if you have left a window open or an appliance turned on. By this concept, it can also work as a house guard and pet monitor sending timely alerts if any unusual activity is detected or the pet needs attention. As a partner to the seniors at home, AI agent can provide reminders to take medications or manage personal schedules. With a robot capable of endless features, LG aims to “liberate” us “from the burden of housework.”

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LG’s Smart Home Sidekick: Zero Chores, All Fun at CES 2024!

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LG Electronics is set to showcase its revolutionary smart home Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent at CES 2024, embodying a vision of a “Zero Labor Home.” This innovative AI agent integrates robotic, AI, and multi-modal technologies, elevating it beyond a mere device to a comprehensive home manager and companion. Navigating Autonomously with Style LG’s smart home […]

The post LG’s Smart Home Sidekick: Zero Chores, All Fun at CES 2024! first appeared on Trendy Gadget.

All-screen iPhone with Under-Display Camera is coming but not too soon

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Although notches and cutouts, including Apple’s Dynamic Island ‘pill,” have become the industry standard for cramming front-facing cameras and sensors on smartphones, they are hardly the ideal solution. Because of the blemish they put on the phone’s display, not to mention the area of unusable space they incur, they’re both unattractive and wasteful. The ideal solution and Holy Grail that designers and manufacturers have been chasing after is having no cutout at all, with the camera invisibly hidden beneath the screen. As many smartphones, including the Galaxy Z Fold series, demonstrate, that’s easier said than done. That said, everyone seems to be moving in that direction, including Apple, which might already be preparing for an iPhone that’s all-screen, coming in 3 or 4 years.

Designer: Apple (via The Elec)

Image courtesy of Samsung

Hiding a camera lens or other sensors beneath the screen is no easy task. A camera will need to capture light from the outside in order to actually form a picture, but a screen is mostly opaque so no light will reach it normally. This is why Under-Display Cameras (UDC) or Under-Panel Cameras (UPC) actually have a lower resolution in the area directly above the camera compared to the rest of the screen. A lower resolution means fewer pixels, which means some light will be able to pass through to the sensor beneath. At the same time, however, the resolution shouldn’t be too low that you can make out the individual pixels with the naked eye, destroying the illusion.

There are other technical considerations with UDCs, including how the display’s own illumination could bleed into the camera, a flaw that Samsung is probably too familiar with. With so many parts of the puzzle, it’s no wonder that Apple isn’t in a rush to adopt this rather young technology, even if other brands like Samsung and ZTE have already jumped on the bandwagon. It won’t hold off forever, of course, and it seems that the ball has started rolling for an iPhone with that design in 2027 at the earliest.

Image courtesy of MacRumors

According to industry sources, LG has started work on a solution to the deterioration of image quality due to the loss of light in under-display cameras. It’s designing a special lens that is composed of multiple lenses to be able to gather more light despite the screen’s pixels blocking most of the area. Of course, the technology is still under heavy development, so even if Apple were to use it, won’t be happening even in the next two years.

In fact, Apple is expected to first adopt a familiar circular punch-hole cutout for either the iPhone 16 Pro next year or the iPhone 17 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro is also speculated to be the first to use an “Under Panel Face ID” technology before Apple finally jumps to an all-screen iPhone design after 2026, possibly with the iPhone 20 Pro, if that will be its name.

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