5 Head-Scratching Questions We Have About LG's PJ9 Floating Speaker

LG has introduced the world to its PJ9 Bluetooth speaker, and it's looking to give your listening sessions a mysterious twist. The somewhat tiny speaker uses magic (or magnets) to levitate above its larger base, giving it a rather unique aesthetic in a sea of other Bluetooth speakers. It's certainly an attention grabber, to say the least.

The problem is that LG's announcement was fairly vague, holding back some important details. This is likely due to the fact that the PJ9 will be on display at CES next week, so LG is probably hesitant to loose all of the details right away. With that in mind, here are a few burning questions we have about LG's PJ9 speaker.

This is, obviously, is the biggest question we have about this device. There's a lot here to suggest that this is going to be an expensive Bluetooth speaker: wireless charging, IPX7 water resistance, electromagnetic levitation. It's undoubtedly one of the coolest Bluetooth speakers we've ever seen, but if the price isn't right, cool factor doesn't really mean much. If LG can manage a sub-$200 price point, that could translate to a lot of sales for the PJ9.

We know that the base of the device holds a subwoofer and can wirelessly charge the speaker itself when its battery runs low. With that kind of functionality, it seems likely that the base will need to be plugged in all the time, but LG hasn't said anything one way or another. If it can be used wirelessly, what kind of battery life can we look forward to? Moreover, are any of the base's capabilities limited when it isn't plugged in?

Assuming the base must remain plugged into an outlet at all times, the next question is whether or not we can use the speaker on its own. It seems safe to assume that we can, because that would lend some degree of portability to a device that's otherwise meant to stay in one place. If we can use the speaker portion on its own, what does that do to the sound quality? Remember – the subwoofer is in the base of the device, so quality could take a pretty big dive when using the speaker alone.

At this point, it's hard to know if this is more of a proof of concept or if it's closer to a retail debut. We'll find out more about this next week when we hopefully get some hands-on time with the speaker at CES. The expectation is that LG will be winding up for a 2017 release, but for the moment, there's no confirmation of that.

Presumably, the magnets keeping the speaker afloat are strong enough to endure a few bumps, but are they strong enough to endure the power of rock? Is there any scenario where the music can get so intense that it breaks the speaker's levitation and sends it hurtling through the air? You'd assume not, but depending on how powerful that subwoofer is, we could be in for some speaker acrobatics when the right song is playing.

At first glance, LG has put together a pretty impressive speaker with the PJ9. Price is going to be a major variable as it heads into release, along with the portability of the device as a whole. Hopefully LG has some answers to these questions next week at CES!