LG Announces B&O Play as Earphone Partner for Upcoming V20 Smartphone

LG released additional details Wednesday about advanced audio capabilities in its upcoming V20 smartphone. The V20 will come with a “special” pair of B&O Play earphones from Bang & Olufsen and wallpapers displaying the B&O Play logo, it said. Earlier this month, LG said the V20 will be the first smartphone on the market with the Android Nougat operating system out of the box and the first with the ESS 32-bit hi-fi Quad D/A converter (see 1608110041). The Quad DAC up-samples music that’s saved on the phone or streamed -- along with video soundtracks -- for playback through “compatible wired headphones,” said LG then. It wasn’t clear whether the B&O headphones are the compatible headphones described, and LG didn’t immediately respond to questions. LG is working with B&O Play engineers to bring “natural and balanced sound” to a portable device, B&O said in a Wednesday announcement.