LG is reviewing its webOS TV software – and perhaps ruining it

There is not much similarity between the webOS software that runs on LG TVs and Palm smartphones, where the operating system started many years ago. But the LG TV interface has grown and is among my favorites for its efficiency in getting out of the way. When you press the home button on the remote control, a shortcut bar with applications, HDMI inputs and other destinations slides up at the bottom of the screen, but does not completely go beyond what is on the screen. Highlight a streaming app and an additional line slides in to reveal recommended choices and what’s being broadcast.

Well, very much for that.

LG is doing a major overhaul of webOS on its 2,021 TVs. Version 6.0 of the software completely eliminates the slider bar and now has a full house screen it looks similar to what you would find on any other TV. The colorful “blade” interface of webOS has completely disappeared. At least on the surface, everything seems more bland. It’s just a long list of thing. You have a hero area at the top with big banners, then “top picks”, followed by apps, home panel / your entries and lots of other categories.

Image: LG

LG says that “the new home screen provides faster access to the most frequently used apps and speeds up content discovery with the ability to receive recommendations based on user preferences and viewing history.” You can see a big “sponsored” slot in the upper left corner, so yes, you can expect some paid channel ads and recommendations on the home screen of your future LG TV. (LG’s latest Magic Remote will also have shortcut buttons for selected streaming apps, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus.)

There will be individual shopping lines, sports scores and ad-sponsored LG channels – where you can stream free programming – on the home screen. Before, all of these were separate areas of webOS, but now they are being moved into the spotlight. Unfortunately, LG told me that there is no way to hide lines for which you are useless. I really hope this will change.

LG does not usually bring the new version of webOS each year to previous TVs. So if you’ve bought an LG OLED or LCD TV in the past few years, it’s likely you will remain with the previous interface. But I asked LG for confirmation on this, since the annual changes are not typically that drastic.

Image: LG

I don’t want to thumbs up or down on webOS 6.0 before seeing it firsthand, but my initial feeling is that it looks like a regression. It may take just a few days with one of the new sets to get the hang of this updated layout, and this approach will likely be easier to navigate and more intuitive for non-technicians. But I will miss the touch of whimsy that webOS on LG TVs has had so far.

On the other hand, LG says that the new remote control will have NFC capabilities, so you can touch a smartphone to it to share content on the TV screen. And the list of voice commands for Alexa and Google Assistant has been further expanded in webOS 6.0.