Why it matters: With virtually every major tech player having announced or launched their take on wireless earbuds, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out in the crowd. To do so, you need a differentiator – a feature or selling point that only your product offers. For LG, that’s apparently sanitation.
The South Korean electronics maker recently announced the LG Tone+ Free. The company’s first wireless earbuds feature signal processing technology from Meridian Audio and up to six hours of battery life on a single charge. A recharge of just five minutes will result in up to one hour of listening time, LG said.
LG’s differentiator with the Tone+ Free, however, is its charging case. In addition to simply storing and charging the buds, the case features an ultraviolet light that’s designed to disinfect the headphones between uses. It’s the same concept used in toothbrush sanitizers.
It’s not a terrible idea but at the same time, I’m not sure that most buyers will really care. Do non-germophobes actually care enough to clean headphones? How many people do you know that obsessively clean their smartphones? For me, the answer is zero.
The LG Tone+ Free wireless earbuds will be offered in black and white color schemes. The black variant launches October 28 followed by the white model sometime in November. No word yet on US availability and pricing, however, but in Korea, they’ll go for 259,999 won (roughly $215).
https://www.techspot.com/news/82176-lg-first-true-wireless-earbuds-ship-germ-killing.html
