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LG brings Apple TV and Apple Music apps to more third-party webOS TVs
Apple TV, Apple Music and other Apple services are coming to third-party webOS TVs.
LG's latest portable projector brings smart TV features beyond the living room
LG has unveiled a portable projector that brings media apps and phone casting to more rooms in your home.
LG's 2023 OLED TVs are up to 70 percent brighter
LG has unveiled its 2023 range of OLED TVs, and the G3 models are up to 70 percent brighter.
Google Stadia is finally available on LG TVs almost one year later
Google Stadia game streaming is now available on recent LG TVs — you just need a controller.
Twitter has been plugged into a Handspring Visor for some reason
A 'working' Twitter client exists for the PDA from 1999.
LG confirms webOS will power smart TVs by other manufacturers too
Just like Roku, Android and Fire TV, LG's webOS smart TV platform will run on TVs made by multiple brand names.
LG's webOS 6.0 smart TVs have a new UI, NFC-equipped remote
LG is rolling out version 6.0 of its webOS smart TV platform, with more voice control, a new look for the interface and a remote with NFC in it.
LG TVs add a Movies Anywhere app
Now that Ultraviolet is gone, Movies Anywhere has become the dominant "digital locker" that enables viewing of purchased movies across different devices and services. Now LG is the first TV manufacturer (it was previously available on platforms like Roku or Fire TV, but those aren't only for smart TVs) to feature the main app, which easily organizes and sets up links for your accounts across the services that connect to it: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV, Xfinity, FandangoNow or Verizon. Hopefully, it should make movie night a little easier whether you're watching or just checking to see if a particular movie will be part of your digital collection on the service (Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM still haven't signed up, so your options are all from Disney/Fox, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros.). And if you have a few accounts with those services, then you can pull them all together in one place. It's also convenient if you're taking advantage of the recently-announced Screen Pass sharing feature that allows free viewing of movies your friends have purchased -- with some notable restrictions.
Now certain 2019 LG TVs have the Apple TV app too
Late last year LG started to add AirPlay 2 and HomeKit to its TVs with firmware updates. Then at CES last month the company announced it would add the full Apple TV app that adds all of the video bits from iTunes, as well as access to the Apple TV+ service. Now, if you have one of its 2019 OLED TVs or high-end NanoCell LCD TVs then you should start seeing the app, while "select" other LCDs (UM7X and UM6X series) should get access later this month. This way, you don't have to add an Apple TV device, or use the AirPlay features to watch Apple's various video offerings, and of course many of the shows are mastered in Dolby Vision HDR. Last year the app was exclusively available on Samsung's TVs, but in 2020 it's coming to a much wider selection of screens. For LG's 2020 TVs it will be available at launch, and the company reaffirmed that 2018 TVs will also get the app via a firmware update later this year.
LG's 2020 TVs: Massive 8K screens and the first 48-inch 4K OLED
Prior to LG's CES 2020 press conference this morning, the company had already revealed a slew of "Real 8K" televisions, and announced that the rollable 4K OLED TV we saw at last year's show will be ready to go on sale later this year. Both of those were present in its demo area, and looked impressive. 8K is sharp on LCD "NanoCell" screens, but the 8K OLED really popped, even if it was only playing demo content and hard to compare directly to what we've seen before from 4K OLED screens. Meanwhile, the rollable screen LG is planning on selling still only rolls one way, and won't have some of the features other new TVs have (like ATSC 3.0 compatibility to receive 4K via antenna) when it finally ships. Of course, those aren't the only TVs that LG will put on the market in 2020, and now the company is ready to talk about more of the lineup.
Hulu brings 4K content to the Xbox One
Hulu is still in the midst of returning 4K content to its streaming service. As of today, owners of 4K-capable Xbox One models can play The Handmaid's Tale, Castle Rock and other shows (mostly Hulu originals) at full resolution. You can also expect 4K support on Amazon Fire TV devices and LG's webOS-based TVs sometime in the near future.
Roku continues to dominate TV streaming in the US
It's no secret that Roku has many devotees, but how big is its lead in the TV streaming world, really? Quite large, according to Strategy Analytics -- and importantly, growing. The analyst firm's latest sales research indicates that Roku is expanding its dominance in the US, with over 41 million active media streaming devices (about 15.2 percent of the market) under its belt. That's a 36 percent advantage over the next-closest platform, Sony's PlayStation line.
LG's new TVs will support Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit
First Apple partnered with Samsung to bring AirPlay 2 TVs, now it's doing the same with LG. The TV maker revealed today that its latest WebOS-powered sets, including the stunning rollable OLED, its revamped OLED line and even standard LEDs, will support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. Unfortunately, there won't be an iTunes app for LG, something that will make Samsung's sets almost like pseudo-Apple TVs. But at least you'll finally be able to stream content from your iOS devices without splurging on an Apple TV. HomeKit support could also be useful for controlling certain smart devices right from your big screen TV. It's not surprising why Apple is finally opening up its ecosystem: It needs help if it wants to succeed in the entertainment world.
LG's 2018 TVs now work with Amazon Alexa
For years, "smart" TVs have largely been defined by internet connectivity and a wide array of apps. LG, with its webOS platform, has been at the forefront of that push. This year, the company has focused more on making its TVs more intelligent thanks to its 'ThinQ' initiative, first integrating Google Assistant and now rolling out support for Amazon's Alexa.
Google Assistant arrives on LG's 2018 premium TVs
First revealed at CES 2018, Google Assistant is now live on LG's AI TV lineup with ThinQ AI, and LG has more details about how it works. The new tech is available on all of LG's OLED and Super UHD TVs with Thinq AI, including the Signature W8, C8, E8 and B8 OLED lineup and SK9500, SK9000 and SK8000 Super UHD TVs.
LG wants to take webOS beyond TVs with 'Open Source Edition'
WebOS used to power HP's long-dead Palm devices and early tablets, but since LG got a hold of it in 2013, it's mostly been associated with smart TVs and refrigerators. LG is hoping to push the the platform beyond that, however, with a new release called webOS Open Source Edition. As the illustration above shows, it's hoping developers will adopt it for devices like tablets, set-top boxes and (I think) robots.
LG's 2018 4K TVs include AI and smarter HDR
After a fair amount of teasing, LG is ready to take the wraps off of its 2018 4K TV lineup -- and in many ways, it's an evolution of what you saw last year. Its flagship OLED lines (the Signature-badged W8 and more-conventional E8) and the LCD-based SK9500 have designs that are largely familiar to their predecessors but carry some significant upgrades under the hood. The centerpiece, as LG mentioned earlier, is AI: All three lines support deep learning and Google Assistant control to allow for natural language voice control over everything from the TV itself to smart home devices. They also bring active HDR that improves the image quality of HDR10 and Hybrid Log Gamma content by analyzing individual images.
LG's Alexa-powered fridge sends recipes to your oven
Now that LG's Alexa-equipped refrigerator is no longer a novelty, the company is moving on to the next step: appliances that work in harmony. This week at CES, it's introducing a range of smart appliances that thrive on sharing information to help you get things done. The centerpiece is LG's next Alexa-capable fridge, the InstaView ThinQ. While its 29-inch transparent touchscreen, webOS platform and voice control aren't all that new, its integration with your oven is. When you choose a recipe (including those suggested by the fridge, which detects what you have on hand), you can send it to an oven with Alexa support to get spoken cooking instructions. This is ultimately a luxury -- your fridge likely isn't that far from your oven -- but it's good to have your recipes right where you'll use them.
Sling TV streams live broadcasts to your LG Smart TV
If you're a cord cutter, you no longer have to worry about buying a dedicated media player just to watch live broadcasts on your LG TV. Sling TV's internet-only service is now available on "most" of LG's 2016-era webOS sets as an app, with 2017 models due to get it in the months ahead. In theory, that puts internet -only viewing just a launch bar shortcut away.
LG put Alexa in a refrigerator and it seems like a great idea
Alongside a load of new TVs, you can count on all the big tech companies to roll out new smart appliances every year at CES. LG is no exception, adding Amazon's Alexa to its line of Smart InstaView refrigerators. We've seen previous versions of the fridge with huge touchscreens in the door, but this time around the company has tacked on a virtual assistant and webOS software in the US. For the global model, expect Windows 10 integration and access to Cortana for spoken assistance.
