Is The Future Upon Us? We’re Seeing Levitating Speakers, Impossibly Thin TVs and Super Light Laptops!
So recently we were invited to visit LG’s latest product launch on their home entertainment and IT systems. We jumped at the opportunity, because we know the brand’s notable for some pretty cool stuff, and hey, it isn’t every day you get to be inside a room witnessing firsthand some of the world’s technology firsts.
And we weren’t disappointed.
The launch was pretty impressive. As tech buzzwords flew past us faster than United Airlines hauling passengers out on an overbooked flight, we saw speakers that floated midair, huge screen TVs that stick to flat surfaces like magnets and laptops so light that you can lift them with just two fingers. If this sounds like a sci-fi movie, well, it should.
Here are some of our faves from the launch:
1. A really, really thin TV that’s big on features
We all know the prowess of LG’s OLED TVs in terms of colour quality — they have some of the most perfect blacks and a pretty wide colour gamut. But their new lineup for 2017 with their Signature W7 series is taking things a step further with a minimalist TV that is incredibly sleek. The OLED panel measures only 2.57mm thin in the 65-inch model, which is just two average-sized fingers wide (yep, we measured).
It’s mounted on the wall with magnetic brackets, with no messy plugs or wires sticking out as those are all stuffed inside the accompanying sound bar which supports Dolby Atmos surround audio. All you need is a flat surface to mount the TV on. What results is a TV that appears just like wall art.
The price is a whopping $12,888 for the 65-inch Signature W7 TV (but think! You’re paying for an unrivalled cinematic experience!), and is available in Singapore in May 2017.
2. TVs where you won’t need to hog the front seat
Flat screen TVs are great because they don’t take up very much space. But the problem surfaces when you want to watch TV from the side of your living room because somebody (or somebodies) is hogging the middle sofa which offers the best view of the TV.
That’s where the LG’s Super UHD TVs like their SJ957T (86-inch), SJ950T (65-inch) and SJ850T (65-inch or 55-inch) come in. They make every seat in the living room an ideal seat thanks to their nano cell technology that delivers consistent colours at wide viewing angles. So whether you’re in front of the screen, or viewing from a 60-degree angle, you’re getting good quality colours.
That dude that appears in every LG launch we’ve been to and who has incredible tech knowledge.
The technology’s pretty smart. It absorbs unwanted light so that colours appear brighter and more radiant, and it also reduces the onscreen light glow in bright environments to maintain high picture quality.
The SJ957T is priced at $18,888, while the SJ850T is priced at $4,888 for the 65-inch and $3,588 for the 55-inch. Both are already available. LG has yet to announce the price for the SJ950T, which is available only in June 2017.
3. A speaker that dances
Okay, so levitating speakers have been around for some time. But we were no less thrilled when we saw the PJ9 Bluetooth speaker rotating and floating in mid-air when it started playing. The PJ9 is part of the PJ series of portable speakers that feature a turbine blade design that allows the sound to resonate 360 degrees so the sounds appear like they wrap around you.
What we fancy about the PJ9 version is that it can be married with a subwoofer that also doubles as the levitation station for a really sonorous audio experience. It’s also quite clever — when it requires more battery charge, it lowers itself so that the station underneath it recharges it through kinetic power transfer. Other than that, it’s also comes with the same characteristics of the speakers in the series — waterproof and with 10 hours of battery life.
The price and availability for the PJ series of speakers are not yet available, unfortunately. But good things come to those who wait! We’re totally crossing our fingers for this to arrive on our shores.
4. A laptop that’s light as a, well, feather!
When we saw (and lifted) the LG gram, we thought ‘Okay, here’s a laptop that’s perfect for yuppies on the go’. And it really is so. The brand launched the laptop last year, but they will be introducing new 15.6-, 14- and 13.3-inch bodies to the Singapore market this year.
It’s main selling point is that it’s lightweight, but there are several other features we like. Battery life is approximately 17.5 hours, which is pretty badass for such a lightweight device. And it also has backlit keyboard lighting, great for people who aren’t that familiar with keyboard placements.
Prices for LG gram has yet to be announced. But they will be available next month in nondescript dark grey. We hear LG has plans to bring in prettier colours in the near future!
