As well as 100s of TVs, speakers and kitchen appliances, the annual CES show in Las Vegas plays host to more esoteric devices – some of which planned for release, others more to show proof of concept.
LG is particularly fond of unveiling off-the-wall products each year, and this coming CES will be no different – it has already announced a couple of innovations that will be on its show stand. And one is of particular interest for those looking for a different kind of music system.
The DukeBox by LG Labs is a media player come juke box that sports classic vacuum tube audio technology set behind an OLED display that can become transparent at the touch of a button.
That enables the owner to proudly display its retro charms (and audio capabilities) while still enjoying the modern convenience of a touch panel.
It also houses a front-facing speaker array at the bottom, plus a 360-degree speaker at the top, for spatial sound experiences. You can even set the OLED panel to hide the inner workings completely, in order to watch a movie. Or turn the whole thing into a virtual fireplace, with the amber valves sitting amongst flickering flames.
Yeah, it's bonkers and, in all likelihood, pricey (it's yet to be confirmed), but it's our kind of bonkers. We'll certainly make sure to check it out in the flesh when we visit CES next week.
We're also hoping to catch up with the Bon Voyage by LG Labs – a space-age caravan / camping trailer, that will also be at the show. Plus a selection of other interesting innovations which we only have names for at present – such as the LG CineBeam Qube, LG gram Fold, LG XBOOM, LG StanbyMe Go, LG tiiun mini and, perhaps most intriguingly, the brid.zzz by LG Labs. Nope, we don't know what the last one could be neither.
CES 2024 starts on 9 January, with keynote addresses and press conferences starting the day before. We'll be bringing you all the latest from the show as it happens, right here on T3.
