For a new year, LG is bringing a new third-gen version of its Alpha9 AI processor, which of course is ready to do all the upscaling and sharpening necessary for its 8K TVs, as well as AI Sound Pro processing. That’s supposed to identify between five different types of content and adjust accordingly so words are clearer and scenes are upmixed to 5.1.

While we’ll have to wait and see how many of these features trickle down to cheaper televisions, the 8K line will also feature LG’s ThinQ AI tech, with a webOS software package that can handle voice control, plus Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. That all sounds similar to last year’s TVs, but now LG is also promising that it will be compatible with Amazon’s Alexa Premium Far-Field Voice “in the future.” That’s supposed to give third-party devices the same level of voice recognition performance as Amazon’s own Echo devices, and it may finally start to appear widely on the market this year.

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For a new year, LG is bringing a new third-gen version of its Alpha9 AI processor, which of course is ready to do all the upscaling and sharpening necessary for its 8K TVs, as well as AI Sound Pro processing. That’s supposed to identify between five different types of content and adjust accordingly so words are clearer and scenes are upmixed to 5.1.

While we’ll have to wait and see how many of these features trickle down to cheaper televisions, the 8K line will also feature LG’s ThinQ AI tech, with a webOS software package that can handle voice control, plus Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. That all sounds similar to last year’s TVs, but now LG is also promising that it will be compatible with Amazon’s Alexa Premium Far-Field Voice “in the future.” That’s supposed to give third-party devices the same level of voice recognition performance as Amazon’s own Echo devices, and it may finally start to appear widely on the market this year.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.