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LG G8 ThinQ to have OLED screen as speaker

LG's G8 ThinQ smartphone will have the company's Crystal Sound OLED tech it first applied in its TVs, that uses the screen as a speaker.
Written by Cho Mu-Hyun, Contributing Writer
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How LG's CSO tech works to make the OLED screen a speaker.

(Image: LG)

LG's new G8 ThinQ smartphone will have the OLED screen act as a speaker, the company announced.

The handset, which will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) this month, will have the company's Crystal Sound OLED (CSO) technology that uses the vibration of the screen to make sound.

LG first unveiled the technology on its OLED TV at CES in 2017.

The CSO technology emits sound from the whole screen so customers can place their ears anywhere during a call, and not on a receiver. However, when using speaker phone mode, the sound will come from the microphone at the bottom of the phone.

Customers will also enjoy 2-channel stereo sound thanks to CSO and the speaker.

LG said it cooperated with UK-based Meridian Audio -- which had designed Range Rover's 3D Surround Sound System -- for the sound system of the new smartphone.

Like its predecessor, the G8 ThinQ will have DTS:X that can emulate a 7.1 channel sound, but where the G7 ThinQ only provided support for earphones, the new phone will also offer it on the bottom speaker.

The upcoming release will also have a Hi-Fi Quad Digital to Analog Converter, made according to the Master Quality Authenticated standard and will also have an upsampling feature.

The new phone is expected to have new gesture control feature, as teased on its invitation for the unveiling event.

LG is also planning to unveil its first 5G phone, most likely the V40 ThinQ, at MWC.

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