LG Unveils webOS 3.0 Smart TV Platform Ahead of CES

LG has just announced the newest iteration of its popular smart TV platform, webOS 3.0, ahead of next month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The newest webOS platform introduces a number of key features and improvements, while maintaining the delightfully bubbly, colorful, and intuitive layout and functionality of the previous iterations.

LG's snappy, colorful webOS platform has won our Best Smart Platform award two years in a row, so a new-and-improved 3.0 version makes perfect sense for LG in 2016.

{{amazon name="LG Electronics 65EG9600 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Curved Smart OLED TV (2015 Model)", asin="B00RVAG7MW", align="right"}} Many of LG's previous series, such as the EF9500 and EG9600 4K OLED models, will receive an upgrade to the new 3.0 platform, and it will come standard on most of the company's 2016 lineup.

New webOS 3.0 features include a suite of "Magic" features—Magic Zoom, Magic Mobile Connection, and a new Magic Remote that finally adds DVR control buttons. WebOS 3.0 will also introduce features like Music Player, Channel Advisor, and IoTV, while maintaining the "simple" features of the last two versions.

Stay tuned for our hands-on impressions and video of LG's new webOS 3.0 and TV lineup next month during CES in January.

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Source: LG Electronics With the popularity and demand for advanced smart TV capabilities continuing to dominate home entertainment, LG will unveil its 2016 Smart TV lineup featuring the updated webOS 3.0 Smart TV platform in two weeks at CES® 2016.

LG webOS 3.0 builds upon LG’s acclaimed Smart TV platform, adding advanced new features to make finding and switching between LG’s expanded content options – including broadcast TV, streaming services and external devices – simple and fast. “The new webOS 3.0 is a major update since this advanced TV platform technology was first introduced in 2014,” said Brian Kwon, President and CEO at LG’s Home Entertainment Company. “The webOS story ofSimple Connection, Simple Switching and Simple Discovery has really connected with customers and illustrates very clearly our commitment to securing a leadership role in the smart TV market with innovation and creativity.”

LG webOS 3.0 offers three “magic” smart features: Magic Zoom, Magic Mobile Connection and an upgraded Magic Remote, taking the smart TV user experience to a whole new level.

Magic Zoom enables users to magnify objects and letters without any degradation in picture quality. With Magic Mobile Connection, users can easily connect a mobile phone to their LG Smart TV via the LG TV Plus App to display mobile apps on the big screen. The upgraded Magic Remote is designed to make controlling set-top boxes (STB) easier with the addition of set-top box “power” and “menu” buttons as well as the ability to control DVR functions, further integrating its Universal Remote capability and ensuring consumers can control their home entertainment set up with a single remote. The on-screen remote has also been redesigned to simplify the user interface for less clutter and more convenience.

Designed with the aim of providing a more streamlined way of enjoying high-quality digital content, webOS 3.0 introduces Channel Plus, a unique feature which provides a wide range of over-the-top (OTT) content in a user-friendly format. Channel Plus offers a unified channel list that combines OTT content with linear broadcast TV channels, enabling users to watch OTT content by surfing through channels in the same manner they normally would. Channel Plus can also be controlled with an app to provide program recommendations via on-screen widgets.

Through a partnership with Xumo (www.xumo.com), Channel Plus offers an abundance of high quality, free digital content from broadcasters and publications such as Bloomberg Politics, TIME Inc., Condé Nast Entertainment and The Wall Street Journal. To appeal to a larger audience, a variety of premium content such as that of BuzzFeed, PopSugar, and Mode Media, from rising Digital Networks and Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) is also available on Channel Plus as well as international channel packages.

“LG’s ability to think a step ahead of the industry when it comes to delivering premium content to their customers perfectly aligns with Xumo’s DNA,” said Colin Petrie-Norris, CEO of Xumo. “At Xumo, we bring a fresh approach to the manner in which in-demand, premium digital and broadcast content is presented to viewers. We’re excited that Xumo and LG’s joint efforts have come to fruition in Channel Plus.”

LG’s 2016 lineup of Smart TVs featuring webOS 3.0 will be on display in LG’s booth (LVCC Central Hall, #8204) at CES 2016 from Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas.

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