LG is licensing its webOS platform to other TV manufacturers

LG is licensing its webOS platform to other TV manufacturers
(Image credit: LG)

You probably wouldn't expect McDonald's to license its burger sauce recipe to other fast-food restaurants, but that's what LG has done – figuratively speaking, of course. The Korean tech titan has announced it is opening up its webOS TV platform to a host of other TV brands.  

According to a company statement, "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 move mirrors Roku, Amazon and Google, who have already partnered with a slew of TV brands to sell smart TVs running Roku TV, Fire TV and Android TV respectively.

So, which brands will LG team up with? "Over twenty TV manufacturers from around the world have already committed to the webOS partnership," says LG, "including brands such as RCA, Ayonz and Konka with more partners expected to join in the future."

Licensees will be able to pair their panels with websOS 5.0 (via TheVerge), which features voice search and control, streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, plus LG Channels (the firm's free content streaming service). Compatible TV models might even come bundled with LG's Magic Motion remote controller.

Of course, LG isn't giving away the farm – not yet, anyway. You'll still need to splash out on one of its own models to enjoy the very latest webOS 6.0 experience, which features across all of LG's 2021 TV range including its OLED, QNED Mini LED, NanoCell and UHD smart TVs.

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