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LG’s OLED lineup for 2021.
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This is the new G1 model.
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LG introduced its first 83-inch TV this year.
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And there are 8K TVs too.
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Some of LG’s new TVs come with this “gallery standard” option.
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You can of course also attach them to the wall.
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Here are the “QNED” televisions.
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The more modestly priced NanoCell product line is still a thing.
LG has announced that it is starting to license its webOS TV software for use by other TV manufacturers. That will put webOS in direct competition with other platforms used by TV brands, such as alternatives from Roku, Amazon and Google.
LG says “more than 20 TV manufacturers” have “committed to the webOS partnership,” citing RCA, Ayonz and Konka as examples. They ship the operating system to their TVs, giving them access to voice control features, LG’s AI algorithms, and a fairly robust library of already-built streaming apps like Netflix, YouTube, or Disney +.
For smaller manufacturers, this is more cost-effective than developing these features themselves or lobbying companies such as Netflix or Disney to support new platforms.
At the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January, LG announced webOS 6, a major interface overhaul that uses a design language more similar to what is found in most other TV operating systems. However, licensees of webOS will at least be limited to an earlier version of webOS, which has the old interface, for the time being.
In addition to any license fees, LG can leverage this larger installation base to take advantage of a more robust ad network and collect user data on a larger scale. The company will also put its LG Channels content on more TVs. Furthermore, LG has bigger ambitions for webOS than just TVs, so this move supports the company’s efforts to make webOS ubiquitous as the software expands to automobiles, home appliances and other products.
Users may be hesitant about advertising and collecting data, but there is one benefit to them: a larger installation base for webOS will likely lead to more frequently updated, higher-quality apps from content companies.
As usual, this announcement came with a published statement from a prominent manager of the company – in this case LG Home Entertainment President Park Hyoung-sei, who said:
The webOS platform is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to access millions of hours of movies and TV shows … By welcoming other manufacturers to join the webOS TV ecosystem, we’re breaking new ground in which allows many new TV owners to experience the same great user experience and features available on LG TVs. We look forward to bringing these new customers into the incredible world of webOS TV.
webOS for TVs as we currently know it dates back to 2014, and admittedly, reviewers and users have responded well as being one of the more fun TV operating systems to use. Part of the ease of use comes from the magical Wii remote that comes with LG TVs; LG’s press release states that partners licensed for webOS will provide TVs with similar remote controls.
LG released an open source version of webOS earlier in 2018 and Samsung announced plans to make its Tizen TV OS available for licensing by other TV manufacturers in 2019. But a year and a half later, we haven’t heard anything concrete about the latter.
List with image by LG