LG webOS 6.0 smart TVs for 2021 Will Have a New User Interface

[Alex]

LG's webOS 6.0 smart TVs have a new UI, NFC-equipped remote

The new smart TV software from LG also has more voice commands for use with Alexa or Google Assistant

Seven years after introducing webOS as the platform for its Smart TV lineup, LG is introducing version 6.0 with a new look and feel for its 2021 4K and 8K TVs. The old blade lineup of apps is gone, with a more modern tile-based layout. LG Home Entertainment president Park Hyoung-sei calls this “the most significant update since we first introduced webOS in 2014.”

An upgraded version of its ThinQ AI has more voice command control than ever whether you’re using Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. For traditional control, this year’s edition of its Magic Remote is a bit more standard than some of the previous versions, but also includes NFC for the first time, which allows users to share content from phone to TV (and back) simply by tapping it.

The new software includes Magic Explorer, which can pull up related content about actors, locations and items of interest for “select broadcast channels, while Next Picks analyzes viewing preferences to suggest things you might like. There’s no word on opt-in or opt-out preferences for these settings, but we’ll ask about them as the show progresses next week. It’s also unclear whether the updates will extend to older TVs in LG’s lineup, one way or another, the old HP software platform is still rolling on, powering new OLEDs and LCDs for another year.

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[Samael Bate]

webOS 6 needs to be made available to all existing LG smart tv's. The lack of updates for older models will damage LG in the long run. A tv is not the kind of item people want to buy every year or so. If LG won't support the 2 smart tv's that I've already bought then my next one will be another brand. Also support for developers is pretty bad. The documentation needs a whole lot more information, it is not kept up to date and the component manager can't pull updates as LG's servers are no longer available.

[George Hofmeister]

10 hours ago, Samael Bate said:

webOS 6 needs to be made available to all existing LG smart tv's. The lack of updates for older models will damage LG in the long run. A tv is not the kind of item people want to buy every year or so. If LG won't support the 2 smart tv's that I've already bought then my next one will be another brand. Also support for developers is pretty bad. The documentation needs a whole lot more information, it is not kept up to date and the component manager can't pull updates as LG's servers are no longer available.

Hi @Samael Bate

@Simon Block makes a very good point in his post:

A friend who is the owner of a 2016 Samsung TV has moved to a Google Chromecast as while the TV still produces a perfectly good picture has not received updates to keep up with current viewing habits.  Unfortunately televisions are not yet at the stage mobile phones are at for updates, and then only if you have a really popular brand/model.  The internals of a television compared to a flagship mobile phone are fairly low spec'd with the majority of the cost going on the screen itself.  If people want something that has any chance of being 'future proof' then the price of the television would need to rise quite considerably.

[Samael Bate]

I understand that it's non-trivial to support old devices but that's part of the process. If companies like Apple can support Macs going back 7 years with their latest OS release then I'm fairly sure that LG can manage it. It's not unreasonable for customers to expect that their purchased products get updates for a number of years and LG certainly have the funds to do so. The problem is a lack motivation on LG's part. LG announced a 14.24 billion USD profit in 3rd quarter 2020, they can certainly spare some budget to ensure customers are treated properly.

[Alex]

50 minutes ago, Samael Bate said:

I understand that it's non-trivial to support old devices but that's part of the process. If companies like Apple can support Macs going back 7 years with their latest OS release then I'm fairly sure that LG can manage it. It's not unreasonable for customers to expect that their purchased products get updates for a number of years and LG certainly have the funds to do so. The problem is a lack motivation on LG's part. LG announced a 14.24 billion USD profit in 3rd quarter 2020, they can certainly spare some budget to ensure customers are treated properly.

The issue is the hardware. I would hope LG could do something to support at least a 1 past year model tv, but at the rate processors and hardware gets updated, it's just not possible to update older tvs all the time, that can't handle the acceleration and would become too slow. Happens with all hardware, GPU acceleration allows for increased features, speed, etc. 

This question always comes up with new versions, so we'll see if LG releases any news around this.

[Arthur Dent]

I have an LGOLED55C9PLA  just over a year old.....hopefully will get the update, unfortunately LG is a little like Apple, so much locked down....the built in Browser won’t even let me do Google meet......frustrating......next TV will be android based I think....never realised how restrictive an LG TV is, thank god the picture is awesome...

[TyneBridges]

There's one obvious voice command that my  LG TV (bought in 2020) is missing and I can't believe it's not there: a simple Power On. 

I know that Wake On LAN works because I can get my TV to switch on by voice in Google Home using a very cumbersome combination of IFTTT, PushBullet and AutoMagic software on my phone. This works sometimes if my phone is "awake" and connected to wifi, but I (and, I'm sure, many other users) need something much simpler and more reliable!

Come on LG.

[Arthur Dent]

The WEB OS is sadly lacking and as restrictive as Apple IOS.....can’t do or install anything outside of the permitted range.....I want Firefox, chrome or edge browsers...NOT POSSIBLE.....I want to use Google meet in the built in browser NOT POSSIBLE I want to disable the pop up reminder for a TV software update , which I do t want, ?NOT POSSIBLE.....lots of other restrictive stuff with this TV.....just happy the picture is awesome......I think an Android TV is the way to go, much more open...

[anand shinde]

Will I get LG webOS 6.0 for my smart TV

[George Hofmeister]

10 hours ago, anand shinde said:

Will I get LG webOS 6.0 for my smart TV

Hi @anand shinde

Impossible to know as you have not given any indication of which model you have.  But I am going to guess that the answer will be no anyway.

[Arthur Dent]

An LGOLED55C9PLA 

but I assume you are correct 🤯