New trademarks filed by LG Electronics parent LG Corporation now appear to point to two new sets of wireless earbuds from the company set to fill out its lineup of audio offerings. Those are dubbed the LG TONE Style and LG TONE Flex.
Filed under the classification as wireless audio devices with the European Union Intellectual Property Organization and spotted by LetsGoDigital, the accessories will most likely make an appearance at this year’s upcoming IFA Berlin 2019. That event, running from September 6th through 11th, and CES have typically served as a launching ground for LG’s listening devices over the past several years.
Here’s what the branding means
These listings don’t provide a whole lot else about the gadgets other than their model designations. Similarly, the trademarked graphics associated with the listings use fairly standard LG typefaces rather than pointing to any substantial details but the names alone may give away some details about these gadgets.
LG TONE has historically been used as a branding for the company’s earbuds ranging from the stiff neckband-style gadgets initially launched in 2010, followed by two new iterations of the LG TONE Platinum SE and the TONE Ultra SE featuring push-button access to Google Assistant in late 2018. Those both made improvements to call quality via dual MEMS microphones while the latter of those featured an external speaker.
The new LG TONE Flex branding is the more obvious of the two. On the surface, it suggests that the Korean tech giant might release another generation of the gadgets but with a more comfortable, flexible neckband. The name might also hint at more flexibility in which AI helpers, aside from Google Assistant, are supported in an official capacity.
More speculatively, the “Flex” designation might point to any number of other aspects of the gadget that have been made ‘flexible’ ranging from its use case functionality to use wearability.
LG TONE Style is more ambiguous, possibly pointing to a set of wireless earbuds that follow more ‘stylish’ norms associated with device design. In that case, the gadget might be closely related to other recently leaked images purported to showcase an LG headset under the branding LG TONE Free. Those are expected to be mid-range ‘true wireless’ earbuds with a charging case that reportedly features a self-cleaning component driven by UV, 24-hour battery life, and more improvements.
Another possibility is that the buds might be more customizable or designed with more premium materials and available in a wider array of color configurations.
Everybody’s going wireless
Wireless earbuds are becoming far more common, with that popularity possibly contributing to LG’s decision to continue introducing a greater abundance of options for users. That’s in part driven by the fact that more handsets are being released that don’t feature a 3.5mm headphone jack for use with wired earbuds, to begin with. Other companies, such as Samsung with its own Galaxy Buds that ship with a wireless charging case that can be wirelessly charged, have taken a more reserved approach but the trend is prevalent and seems to be growing.