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By News Reporter
LG Offers Greater Versatility Across a Wider Range of Products From
Third-Party Brands With Latest Upgrade to Its webOS Ecosystem
SEOUL, Nov. 17, 2023 — LG Electronics (LG) announced that the new webOS Hub 2.0S for third party brands – released for TVs in September – is branching out this month to include smart monitors, responding to the expanding smart TV market as well as the highly increasing number of single-person households. While smart TVs are catered to family households, the rising trend of single-person households has led to a significant demand for smart monitors, making webOS Hub 2.0S, which offers both convenience and a large variety of content, a great choice for smaller screens as well.
The new webOS Hub 2.0S presents greater hardware adaptability, broadening its availability beyond smart TVs, and is able to provide more options for third-party brands to offer a customizable user experience.
A new addition on the main home UI screen of webOS Hub 2.0S is the Card App Home Hub & Music, granting access to an abundance of services with one remote click. Featuring a smart home ecosystem dashboard, users can customize control capabilities with supportive device status monitoring for TVs and IoT-based devices.
Designed to meet a diverse range of user needs, the webOS Hub 2.0S offers comprehensive services with a variety of features. Users can easily access music from popular apps such as Spotify or music stored in USB drives via the Card App Music feature. Functions such as Remote PC allow easy access to content for hybrid work, ensuring users a seamless transition to office PCs or laptops. The platform enables convenient video calling and conferencing with support for USB cameras* and encourages productivity with an elevated home fitness experience. To cater to students and working professionals, webOS 2.0S allows accessibility to streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. Compatibility with Apple Home and AirPlay* enables users to easily and securely control compatible smart home accessories and effortlessly stream movies, music, games, and photos using their Apple devices as well.
Affirming its exceptional services and unparalleled versatility, LG has diligently bolstered its market presence over the past three years by integrating the webOS Hub into various third-party products with over 300 brands joining in this exciting endeavor.
Following the success of the company’s approach, LG is expanding the webOS Hub platform to a broader range of smart TVs and smart monitors, solidifying its presence in the industry with a commitment to providing seamless access to the webOS Hub experience across multiple devices.
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*Apple Home and AirPlay, USB camera features are only available on the 1.5GB model equipped with webOS Hub 2.0S.
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By News Reporter
Company Joins Forces With Hyundai Motor Group and YouTube
to Deliver More Entertaining Infotainment Experiences With the New Genesis Models
SEOUL, Nov. 1, 2023 — LG Electronics (LG) has announced that it will apply its in-vehicle infotainment system – featuring webOS for Automotive, the company’s automotive content platform – to Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai Motor Company, Kia corporation, Genesis)’s new Genesis models. On October 31, LG hosted Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai) and YouTube at a ceremony in Los Angeles, U.S., to celebrate the introduction of webOS for Automotive to Hyundai’s luxury brand, Genesis, and to discuss collaborations to enhance the in-vehicle entertainment experience.
Hyundai’s new Genesis models are equipped with an infotainment system that takes full advantage of webOS for Automotive. Passengers in the front and back seats can now comfortably watch the high-definition content they typically enjoy on their smartphone or TV in compliance with driving and safety regulations. Infotainment displays can stream content with the immersive sound quality Genesis has engineered.
This collaboration is noteworthy as it marks LG’s first unveiling of its automotive content platform. LG introduced webOS for Automotive to extend its unique customer experiences and services to the road. Leveraging the proven popularity and convenience of webOS, which has reached cumulative sales of 200 million in the Smart TV market, the company has developed a new version for vehicles so that drivers and passengers can enjoy a wide array of over-the-top (OTT) services, including YouTube, in an optimized cabin setting.
LG, Hyundai and YouTube worked in close collaboration to bring YouTube’s native TV app to WebOS for Automotive, providing an optimized in-vehicle viewing experience. In addition, the YouTube app uses the newly developed native touch solutions on WebOS for Automotive.
Always at the forefront of innovation in the infotainment market, LG is constantly enhancing driving and chauffeur experiences by drawing on the extensive technology and insight it has accumulated over decades in the TV and home appliance spaces.
With webOS for Automotive, customers can comfortably enjoy the variety of content available on TVs at home within their vehicle. It provides differentiated mobility experiences that bring more value to life on the road by extending their living space to their vehicles.
“Thanks to technological development based on SDV, people can comfortably enjoy various video content in their vehicles,” said Kwon Hae-young, vice president of the Infotainment Development Center at Hyundai Motor Group. “We will continue to expand our collaboration with major global content companies to provide more diverse and valuable in-vehicle experiences to our customers.”
“YouTube provides breadth and depth of audio and video content that is optimized for in-vehicle entertainment. We are proud to be part of this collaboration that’s taking in-vehicle entertainment to the next level,” said Tony Archibong, managing director of Global Product Partnerships at YouTube.
“LG remains committed to introducing the most advanced vehicle solutions, including webOS for Automotive, as we strive to elevate the customer experience for drivers and passengers while also accommodating the diverse demands of car manufacturers,” said Eun Seok-hyun, president of LG Vehicle component Solutions Company.
Based on a rich understanding of customer and their living spaces, LG held a press conference at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich, Germany in September, where LG CEO William Cho shared the company’s perspective and presented its vision for the future mobility industry under the theme of “Taking Life’s Good on the Road.”
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By News Reporter
Company’s Transformation to Bring a Better Life to Its Customers
Through Selection of Distinctive Services and Content
SEOUL, Sep. 19, 2023 — LG Electronics (LG) today shared its first step to become a media and entertainment platform company, a business transformation that will enrich customers’ lives by delivering valuable services and a unique collection of curated contents in products, including LG OLED and LG QNED TVs. LG shared its new direction and strategy at the webOS Partner Summit 2023, held at the LG Sciencepark in Seoul, South Korea, and attended by content producers, providers, developers and industry figures from over 30 countries.
The first event of its kind, webOS Partner Summit 2023 provides the perfect forum for LG to share its new vision – and the immense value of the ever-evolving and expanding webOS smart TV platform ecosystem – with its trusted global partners.
Since its launch on LG Smart TVs in 2014, webOS has been one of the most widely used smart TV platforms in the world. Powering more than 200 million LG TVs worldwide, webOS also supports several third-party TV brands in multiple markets. Moving forward, LG plans to extend webOS to more third-party TV companies and expand the platform to other product categories. Within 3 years, LG expects to have over 300 million webOS-powered devices.
To deliver the unmatched convenience and expansive ecosystem of webOS to a broader customer base, LG has already applied its platform webOS to a range of categories, including projectors, digital signage and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
Moreover, the number of third-party partner brands that have embraced webOS Hub, the webOS solution for third-party brands, has grown substantially, increasing from 20 just two years ago to over 300 today. During that time, webOS Hub has undergone meaningful upgrades with the variety of content on offer expanding to include cloud gaming and OTT services and new features arriving to enhance convenience and the overall user experience. Additionally, some of LG’s partner TV brands have now introduced their own OLED TVs powered by webOS Hub.
The webOS smart TV platform is continuously evolving, providing seamless upgrades that add support for new services and bringing constant refinement to the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design based on LG’s deep understanding of customers. To allow as many users as possible to enjoy the latest version of webOS on their home TVs, LG is offering seamless support for TV operating system upgrades and updates via platform upgrades even for earlier TV models.
As part of its strategy to expand the webOS platform ecosystem, LG acquired the US advertising and content data analysis specialist, Alphonso, in 2021. Alphonso established subsidiaries in the UK and Greece last year, accelerating the global growth of its content service.
LG is set to make a substantial investment of KRW 1 trillion in its webOS business over the next five years in order to provide more content and services that cater to the diverse lifestyles and preferences of consumers. By boosting its competitiveness in content and services, LG believes it will further elevate the webOS user experience.
LG’s strategic investment will be focused on broadening the range of content available via the webOS platform, boosting usability by innovating the UI and UX, and strengthening partnerships with content production companies on a global scale. To date, LG has worked with its partners to bring new technologies to the platform for gamers, sports fans or Gen Z users. An example is the integration of Sye, a Prime Video proprietary, which provides a low latency technology that will benefit LG customers who are fans of live-streaming sports like Thursday Night Football. LG TVs deliver Netflix HDR streaming and have just opened the beta release for Netflix Games on TV and with the launch of the lifestyle screens for Gen Z, the company worked with YouTube to make a Native Touch UX available for the app on models such as StanbyME.
LG is also strengthening innovation in the area of AI-based search and recommendations. The company plans to incorporate a voice user interface (VUI) feature into partner companies’ apps, which will let webOS users easily control and navigate third-party content services with their voice, and enable swift and seamless content discovery.
Service usability will likewise be enhanced. LG Channels 3.0, LG’s premium, free streaming service, boasts a growing selection of TV series and has a revamped UI that allows users to view more content options, including live channels and movies, on the screen, reducing the need to scroll. And thanks to the new UI, users can now easily explore what’s on other channels without having to pause or navigate away from what they’re watching.
Available in 27 countries worldwide, LG Channels currently offers over 3,000 channels and has over 50 million subscribers as of March 2023. In 2022 alone, the number of unique devices on which LG Channels was used increased by 75 percent, while viewing time rose by 57 percent and usage frequency surged to make the service one of the top-five most-accessed apps on the webOS platform.
LG is actively investing in its smart TV platform development capabilities by partnering with academic institutions in South Korea to nurture the next generation of software talent, and by reinforcing its efforts to secure top-notch software professionals all around the globe.
LG is driving change with a genuine customer-centric approach, as represented by its TV business’s Sync to You, Open to All vision. The vision expresses the company’s aim to provide personalized experiences that cater to each customer’s preferences and lifestyle, and to create products that are accessible to all.
“LG is poised to transform into a media and entertainment platform company that delivers distinctive content and services that will enhance the lives of its customers,” said Park Hyoung-sei, president of the LG Home Entertainment Company, at webOS Partner Summit 2023. “This transformation would not have been possible without LG’s decade of OLED TV leadership and the technological innovation of the webOS smart TV platform.”
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By News Reporter
Delivering the First Commercial Implementation of HCA Specification 1.0,
Company Expands Smart Home Ecosystem Through Partnerships With Other Brands
SEOUL, Aug. 29, 2023 — LG Electronics (LG) is set to present the first commercial implementation of the Home Connectivity Alliance’s HCA Specification 1.0, enabling cross-brand appliance connectivity through the LG ThinQ smart home platform. By the end of this year, consumers will be able to control appliances from diverse brands, such as Samsung and Vestel, with the intuitive-to-use ThinQ app, providing seamless interconnectivity and a smarter, more convenient home.
With a firm commitment to customer experience innovation, LG has joined with other brands to bring the elegant simplicity of cross-brand compatibility to major markets worldwide, including South Korea, the United States and Europe. The partnership will initially cover major appliance product categories, such as washing machines, dryers and dishwashers, and will gradually be expanded to other types of appliances in the future.
The widespread adoption of HCA Specification 1.0 to development makes it possible to monitor and control various brands’ home appliances and air solutions using a single application. With the ThinQ app, users just have to register their compatible products, and then they’re ready to enjoy the ease and time-saving freedom of one-stop device management. Those with an LG washing machine and a Samsung dishwasher in the home, for example, will no longer have to switch between each manufacturer’s app to set their preferred wash cycle and cleaning settings.
The arrival of true cross-brand interconnectivity is the realization of the HCA’s vision for a seamlessly unified smart home experience. Founded in January 2022 and comprising a number of smart home solutions manufacturers, the HCA aims to provide cloud-based interoperability between the smart home platforms of its member companies. As a board member of the alliance, LG has been working closely with other appliance makers, including Samsung and Vestel, to drive the adoption of HCA Specification 1.0, with the ultimate goal of enhancing user convenience.
Committed to expanding the smart home ecosystem, LG has also actively supported the work of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), a global organization dedicated to developing open communication protocols for smart home devices. LG contributed to the development and standardization of the Matter protocol, an Internet Protocol-based home IoT communications standard led by the CSA.
“LG ThinQ enables a seamlessly interconnected home appliance ecosystem that will provide new smart home experiences to customers around the globe,” said Jung Ki-hyun, executive vice president and head of platform business center. “LG will continue to expand compatibility between ThinQ and other HCA members’ smart home platforms.”
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