Through a press release, LG announced that it will begin to offer a high-fidelity, or Hi-Fi, music service for owners of its premium smartphones.
The decision by LG to release such a service reflects the increasing popularity and demand for high-quality music, as seen by the success of music streaming services such as Spotify and the hype surrounding the launch of the new Apple Music.
The service that LG is releasing, however, is not a music streaming service, as there is no mention of the service being one. Instead, it is a music download service that will store Hi-Fi music in the premium smartphones of customers.
Hi-Fi music will deliver high-quality audio that will sound very close to the original recorded music, with playback capabilities of 24-bit and 192kHz. This is around six times clearer and richer compared to the quality of sound coming from a normal CD, which plays music at 16-bit and 44.1kHz.
The devices that will be compatible with the soon-to-be-launched music service are the premium smartphones that have the capability to play 24-bit music. Specifically, these LG smartphones are the LG G4, LG G3, LG G2 and LG G Flex 2.
Customers that qualify for the Hi-Fi music service will be able to download up to two Hi-Fi tracks for free per month. Users will also have the option to buy songs to download at prices of up to 50 percent off from the regular price.
The new Hi-Fi music service will be introduced beginning this month through the LG Smartworld app and through the LG World website across almost 70 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, China, Brazil, France, Russia and Italy.
"Our Hi-Fi music service reflects our ongoing commitment to providing additional customer benefits to loyal LG customers," said LG Mobile Communications Company marketing communication head and VP Chris Yie.
Yie adds that while music in the digital mp3 format are perfectly fine for most users, owners of Hi-Fi music capable LG devices have the opportunity to enjoy richer music through their smartphones and LG's upcoming Hi-Fi music service.
LG has not yet released an official name for the service, which will challenge Korean rival Samsung's Milk Music streaming music service that was launched earlier this year.
