After announcing the funky portable TV at CES in January, LG is now starting to roll it out in global stores. It’s already listed in Canada for CA$1,799 (about $1,169) and Singapore for SG$1,599.99 (about $1,248) with tax included in the prices, and will be available in the US and Vietnam this month, with prices to be determined. After that, the StanbyME 2 will arrive in the UK, Germany, France, and Spain in August.
LG Display’s 100ppi automotive stretchable display can “turn every interior space into a display,” including the center fascia area where it can expand by up to 50 percent to transform into raised buttons and dials. “When the screen is touched, the previously flat display flexibly expands and protrudes touch buttons, making it easy to operate even while driving,” says the company. It doesn’t say how much it’ll cost to repair.
The company says it’s the first in the world ready to mass produce OLED panels with blue phosphorescence, a project 20 years in the making. It calls it “the final piece of the ‘dream OLED’ puzzle.”
Following reports it had developed the tech last year, LG now says it’s ready to manufacture tandem panels that use both fluorescence and phosphorescence, reducing power consumption by 15 percent, starting with smartphones and tablets.
The company’s Zero Connect Box has trickled down from its 2023 flagship to the new QNED9MA TV. The Mini LED television is available in 65- ($1,799.99), 75- (2,299.99), and 86-inch ($3,499.99) models. That’s not cheap, but it’s 10x less than you would have paid to get that zero-latency wireless audio and video tech when first introduced .
“We are optimizing our production locations and also considering price hikes,” said Lucky Goldstar’s senior vice president Kim I-kueon. South-Korea based LG might move the manufacturing of home appliances like washers and dryers to its factory in Tennessee, where it could cover nearly one-fifth of LG’s total home appliance sales in the US market.
There are three gaming monitors in the lineup, all with a curved 240Hz display and 21:9 aspect ratio, serving as an all-in-one entertainment center that combines LG’s webOS platform with easy access to streaming services. The main difference is size and price, with all three models available to buy on the LG website:
Excellent rant from Jeff Geerling about lazy — or worse, exploitative — home appliance companies that insist on cloud connections to enable basic features. And it’s only getting worse with initiatives like “Screens Everywhere” from companies like Samsung and LG.
This trend away from physical buttons introduces privacy and security concerns, the prospect of costly repairs, and the perfect foundation for advertisements and subscriptions — maybe not now, but certainly when profits are threatened by, oh, I don’t know... global trade wars.
LG is expanding its Gaming Portal from smart TVs to “additional markets, platforms and devices — including LG Smart Monitors and StanbyME lifestyle screens,” according to a press release. The service will come to those new platforms “by the second quarter of this year.”
The Gaming Portal lets you access services like Nvidia’s GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, and, soon, Xbox Cloud Gaming.
The front-mounted knobs on the recalled electric ranges can be accidentally activated, according to the CPSC. The affected models were sold at Best Buy, Costco, and other appliance stores over the past 10 years, and have been responsible for fires causing “extensive property damage,” minor injuries, and even pet deaths.
Instead of repairs, exchanges, or refunds, owners can contact LG for a free warning label reminding them to use lock out functions that disable the heating elements.
LG has acquired a majority stake in Bear Robotics — an AI-powered service robot startup — to integrate with its own “CLOi” commercial robotics business. LG invested $60 million into the startup for a 21 percent stake last March, but the value of the new deal hasn’t been disclosed.
LG’s Lee Sam-soo says the investment reflects the company’s belief that robots have an “inevitable role in the future.”
The electronics giant has followed through on its promise to open the APIs for its ThinQ appliances, and Homey, which is owned by LG, is one of the first platforms to implement it.
The LG ThinQ app for Homey is available now for both cloud-based and hub-based setups and lets you add connected LG washers, dryers, TVs, and more to Homey and control them directly or with automations.
The Hue Sync TV app was previously only available for Samsung TVs, but now you can sync up your lighting with content playing on your LG TV (for a pretty hefty price, of course).
The app, which also comes with the option for a $3.99 per month subscription, is available on LG TVs with webOS 24 and newer.
This new Signature over-the-range microwave oven concept has a big 27-inch Android tablet for a door that can show you what’s cooking inside, on the stove, and can record your face for when you feel like putting on a cooking show. Watch The Verge’s Jennifer Tuohy find recipes on it at the CES show floor:
And I’m here for it! The StanbyME 2 comes with more pixels, more ports (2x USB-C and HDMI), and an extra 30 minutes of battery life.
But who cares about specs: the best part about it are the new accessories, one of which is a shoulder strap. I always wished my TV would come with one, and now it does. See it in action below.
The LG Radio+ streaming service is available on LG smart TVs running webOS 6.0 and above. It’s offered through a partnership with Radioline, and available in the US and South Korea, “giving users an all-in-one audio platform allowing effortless access to news, sports, music, and more,” including live stations and podcasts such as NPR, CNN Radio, Fox Radio, and The Joe Rogan Experience.
All of the company’s Blu-ray player models have been discontinued according to FlatpanelsHD, following similar exits from the industry from Oppo in 2018 and Samsung in 2019.
LG hasn’t released a new Blu-ray player for six years, but it’s still another small blow for the dwindling physical media industry.
[FlatpanelsHD]
