The Smart TV market is dominated by a few operating systems. There is enough variety to choose the one that best suits us, such as Samsung‘s Tizen or LG‘s webOS . Other manufacturers are betting on Android TV to avoid having to develop a system for themselves. Now, strangely, LG has created a new operating system for its Smart TVs .
This system will be called River OS . This has been revealed by the LG Ads branch of the company dedicated to advertising. River OS has been developed by them, and you are ready to start integrating into Smart TVs . The first models will be available in India at the end of 2021, and in 2022 they will reach the United States and the rest of the world.
River OS: copying the best of Google TV
The operating system for Smart TV has been developed from scratch making it compatible with all the technologies and functionalities that are demanded in current Smart TVs. Despite being new, the company has already reached agreements with the main platforms to include its apps. As we see in the first images of what the system will look like, among the LG system apps we will have Netflix, YouTube, Disney + or Prime Video applications .
The operating system will have much more customization than systems like webOS , as well as immediate navigation between applications, devices and services. There will also be voice control natively built into even the cheapest TVs that do.
The voice system processes natural language to understand who is watching TV and offer recommendations to each person without having to switch between profiles. The recommendations are among all the available platforms, in a similar way to how Google TV does it, combining everything in the same interface. If we say things as natural as “turn on the news”, “play the tennis final”, or “find a movie that makes me laugh”, the television will understand what the user wants to see at all times, such as their favorite news channel .
The main screen of the operating system is also adapted to each user , showing quick access to the most used platforms, devices or apps. For example, if we watch a lot of deco and Netflix, we will get fast access to the HDMI of that channel, as well as the Netflix app.
Therefore, the operating system has three main objectives: to be faster and lighter, to combine all the multimedia content in one interface, and to better adapt to each user with the most advanced voice control possible.
It is not to be expected that they will leave webOS aside
LG Ads promises those who integrate it that they will have greater flexibility when it comes to displaying ads in the operating system, which can be very annoying to the user. The company currently has agreements with Sharp, Hisense, Toshiba, Seiki, Skyworth, Tivo, Sling Media , and LG itself. Throughout 2021 they affirm that they will reach agreements with more than 10 other manufacturers.
Nothing indicates that, at the moment, LG is going to put aside webOS, but it is really rare that the same manufacturer is developing two operating systems that compete directly with each other; especially when both are going to be very similar in terms of functionality. With River OS we find a system that is closer to Google TV.