South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. said on Tuesday that it has entered into partnership with Meridian Audio, a British audio and video components and systems manufacturer, to develop new products such as sound bars and portable speakers.

Their joint work will be unveiled at the world’s biggest technology show Consumer Electronics Show next month.

The electronics giant has also changed partnership to U.S. Dolby Laboratories Inc. after contract termination with Harman International Industries in the television sector.

The divorce comes after Harman was acquired by Samsung Electronics Co. last year.

LG Electronics has been enhancing its partnership with overseas companies with specialized technologies entities in a move to secure upscale its finished products of televisions and smartphones. As part of that move, the company has been working closely with Meridian from early this year by applying optimized, high-performance sound technology to its sound bars and portable speakers. The Korean company plans to unveil results of that partnership - products such as new sound bars - at CES 2018 taking place in Las Vegas in January.

An unnamed official from LG Electronics said that its premium audio will reflect Meridian’s sound technology, providing consumers with high-class sound experience. The company will continue to create its own sound value that provide unique experience to consumers.

LG Electronics, meanwhile, has also been working closely with Dolby Laboratories since early this year and applying high-tech stereophonic sound technology Dolby Atmos to its organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs. LG Electronics plans to expand the partnership with Dolby from OLED TVs to liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs and introduce products applying Dolby’s technology next year.

An unnamed industry official said that it will be difficult for LG Electronics to cling to Harman’s TV sound technology and as Harman has been acquired by Samsung Electronics whose premium quantum dot-based QLED TV is in competition with its OLED TV.

By Lee Jae-cheol and Lee Eun-joo

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