OLED King LG Says It Will License webOS to Other TV Makers

LG will make its webOS software available to other companies.

The proprietary software on LG’s own sets will be able to be licensed by outside TV brands, the company announced Wednesday. Notably, TV brands that choose to bring LG’s software to their televisions will also get its Magic Motion remote, LG’s very good cursor-like wand. It would also see the same voice control tools, algorithms, and apps—including LG Channels—included on those displays as well, the company 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,” Park Hyoung-sei, president of the LG Home Entertainment Company, said in a statement.

The news follows LG’s announcement during CES earlier this year that webOS was getting a fairly drastic redesign. LG’s interface in the past has gone for a blade-like design that kept the navigation menu in the lower third of the screen. But with webOS 6.0, which will be included on the company’s 2021 TVs, LG has ditched the blade design for a more standard interface that looks a lot more like Google TV, which is also being licensed out to TV makers and will appear on devices other than the Chromecast this year, including on TCL and Sony televisions.

More than 20 TV makers have already signed on to bring webOS to their sets, according to the company, including RCA, Ayonz, and Konka.