LG unveils high-fidelity audio lineup

LG has just unveiled a new line of audio-focused products, among them are soundbars, a Bluetooth speaker, and perhaps most surprisingly, a smart speaker powered by Google Assistant. The LG ThinQ was unveiled ahead of LG’s conference at CES this coming January. The company worked with Google to create the so-called premium speaker that it boasts as a voice-enabled interface for LG’s smart home appliances. It’s able to control a handful of devices, including LG’s own ThinQ smart home line, which includes door locks, smart lamps, and a ton of others. But this isn’t the first smart speaker to come from LG. Last year, it released a device called the SmartThinQ Hub, which unlike the new ThinQ speaker, was powered by Amazon Alexa. Still, that wasn’t a proper smart speaker because it had a number of limitations. For instance, the experience of using Alexa on the device was not as smooth as, say, on an Echo device. But it was primarily a hub for LG’s smart home ecosystem, and the ThinQ speaker continues that principle, albeit with a new digital assistant baked in. Other details about the ThinQ speaker are thin, but LG says its newly announced audio products target users who value premium sound and smart capabilities.