LG has announced that its webOS smart TV platform will be available via other TV brands as it licenses it out.
The South Korean tech giant is ‘disrupting the status quo’ in the industry ‘known for its proprietary operating systems’. So webOS will also be available from TV brands such as RCA, Ayonz and Konka with more expected to follow suit in the future with more than 20 brands committed.
LG said this “has the potential to reshape the TV business for both technology and content providers while significantly growing LG’s presence and prominence in the global home entertainment market.”
The webOS started out, if you don’t know or forgot, as an HP product found on both phones and tablets like the HP TouchPad. LG then acquired it and reimagined it as a TV operating system in 2014.
The firm says licensees of webOS will get the ‘highly acclaimed’ UX with features including voice search, integrated AI and easy connectivity. It also supports a wide range of apps including Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.
They will get, according to The Verge, webOS 5.0 as it’s the latest version an SDK is publicly available for. This isn’t the latest version as LG has confirmed webOS 6.0 for all 2021 TVs including QNED Mini-LED models.
It’s, of course, not the only OS available across a range of brands with the popular Android TV – now rebranded Google TV – is favoured by the likes of Sony and Philips.
Park Hyoung-sei, president of LG Home Entertainment said: “By welcoming other manufacturers to join the webOS TV ecosystem, we are embarking on a new path that allows many new TV owners to experience the same great UX and features that are available on LG TVs. We look forward to bringing these new customers into the incredible world of webOS TV.”
Author: Chris Martin, Reviews Editor, Tech Advisor
Chris got his break as a reporter at infamous site The Inquirer and has been at Tech Advisor for more than 12 years. With a BA degree in Music Technology, audio is his specialism, but over the years he has reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from smartwatches to mesh Wi-Fi to coffee machines.