LG has chosen will.i.am as its new “Experiential Architect,” and the Black Eyed Peas frontman’s first venture will likely be to launch a rebranded set of Xboom merchandise at CES 2025. The brand new lineup will embrace wi-fi earbuds and Bluetooth audio system, and so they’ll sport a brand new title: “xboom by will.i.am.”
LG says the partnership “goals to rework xboom right into a culture-forward model with an city aesthetic, offering an all-new audio expertise.”
That new expertise will embrace a number of will.i.am-developed traits, like “wealthy bass with a balanced and heat tone.” In keeping with LG, there will likely be two “modes” for listening. One is described as stimulating, with highly effective bass, whereas the second mode is soothing, with harmonious tones.
Simple-to-hold straps and interactive, music-synced lighting may also characteristic prominently, however maybe essentially the most will.i.am side is the mixing of the musician’s Raidio.fyi (styled as RAiDiO.FYI), an AI-powered interactive audio expertise constructed into his FYI AI messaging app. With Raidio.fyi, you may ask an AI music curator to dish up real-time playlists on the fly, and interrupt it at any time to ask music-related questions like, “Are you able to inform me in regards to the artist that’s enjoying,” or virtually the rest that’s in your thoughts, like, “What’s the climate like in LA?”
Will.i.am has a protracted historical past as a participant within the tech house, although not all of his efforts have been a hit.
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In 2012, he developed a weird and costly iPhone case known as the foto.sosho that mixed a slide-out QWERTY keyboard with a 14-megapixel digital camera.
In 2014, shortly earlier than the Apple Watch made its debut, he launched the i.amPULS, a wrist-worn laptop. It was panned by one journalist because the worst product they’d ever reviewed, and was provided up as prime proof by a DailyTech contributor as to why celebs shouldn’t design tech.
Unsurprisingly, audio merchandise appear to be a greater match. In 2018, his firm I.am+ acquired wi-fi earbud pioneer Earin, and subsequently launched a set of tethered wi-fi earbuds known as the I.am+ Buttons, which DailyTech’ Andy Boxall hailed as a few of the most snug he’d ever tried.
We’ll have to attend till subsequent yr to see if xboom by will.i.am follows this trajectory.
LG’s earlier Xboom audio merchandise embrace the Xboom XL7 social gathering speaker, Xboom 360 moveable, and Xboom ThinQ WK9 good show.
