LG G7 phone speakers are gunning for the Galaxy S9
The new phone will have loud boombox speakers and high-quality headphone output.
LG will launch its LG G7 ThinQ phone on May 2, but it gave a little teaser on Monday for those of you keeping an eager eye on how the G7 will stack up against Samsung's Galaxy S9.
The LG G7 will pack new boombox speakers that promise to increase sound levels by more than 6 decibels and deliver twice the amount of bass, according to LG. The company also claims that the LG G7's speakers are 10 times louder than your average phone, so you won't need external speakers to blast your favorite music.
If you'd rather listen to music without waking up the entire neighborhood, the LG G7 is also said to include better support for headphones. For the audio-savvy, LG revealed that the phone will offer DTS:X 3D Surround Sound for up to 7.1 channel performance, Hi-Fi Quad DAC and MQA audio file support. Essentially, this means that the phone should be able to deliver high quality audio with a sense of depth and space, without needing super expensive headphones.
And yes, LG has confirmed that the G7 ThinQ will have a headphone jack.
Sound quality isn't usually a major factor when people buy a new phone -- not as much as the phone's camera or processing power -- but bad speakers can ruin the experience if you're playing music, videos and games aloud, or taking a conference call in the car or on your couch.
The Galaxy S9 has two speakers and Dolby audio software. Audio proved to be loud and rich during our Galaxy S9 speaker showdown, but the LG G7 has a chance to clobber the Galaxy S9's speakerphone.
LG could use every edge it can get to make its phones stand out, especially as smartphone sales slow down across the board. Samsung recently reported "sluggish" sales of its flagship phones, while suppliers are reporting weak demand for various components of Apple's flagship iPhone X. So the LG G7 may have to swim against the current when it launches.
We'll look forward to putting LG's audio claims to the test when we review the LG G7 ThinQ phone.
CNET will be covering the LG G7 ThinQ launch event live in New York on May 2.
