Hi-res audio firm MQA’s latest hardware partnership is with LG, which is preparing to launch its new V30 Android smartphone.
“The LG V30 also includes technology from partner company MQA Ltd. that facilitates high resolution audio streaming, the next big trend in mobile music,” explained LG in a curtain-raiser for the phone’s unveiling at the IFA show this month.
“This allows the V30 to combine its stellar Quad DAC with MQA technology for a listening experience that will touch the heart as well as the ears. Music fans can enjoy high-resolution audio without the inconvenience of downloading huge files or using up large amounts of mobile data to get great sounding music through the V30.”
What’s not clear yet is where that music will come from in terms of streaming services: will existing MQA partner Tidal be involved, for example? That company’s recent investment from Sprint should mean mobile is even higher in its priorities, especially if LG and Sprint work together on the V30’s US distribution.
But for MQA, this is an important new frontier too: while Onkyo launched an MQA-toting ‘Granbeat’ smartphone in Japan, and HTC showed a proof-of-concept handset in 2016, the V30 will be the first globally-available MQA smartphone.
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