If you own a television made by LG Electronics, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the streaming app LG Channels, which is an ad-supported service that serves up tons of free content.
You may also notice something different about the app if you open it in the coming weeks, as LG has said it’s getting a major update that will make it easier to navigate and find new things to watch.
The LG Channels app on LG's best TVs will look a lot more like The Roku Channel, which is a good thing as that app is also notably user-friendly.
LG said the Channels 3.0 update comes with a new UI with “improved navigation, more engaging placements for content discovery and an enhanced channel guide”. As such, users will be able to discover content that resonates much more easily, the company said.
The update will roll out to users in South Korea first, before arriving on TVs in international markets sometime in October, the company added.
With the update, users will find that Channels is now organised into three sections – Home, Live and On Demand. On the Home page, you’ll find a large rotating carousel that displays featured channels, curated content collections and premium video on demand content. As for Live, this displays all of the live TV channels that are accessible from the app.
Also interesting is that the new channel guide only covers half of the screen, so you can browse through it without totally obscuring what you are currently viewing.
As for the On Demand tab, this is similar to services like Netflix, displaying various movies and TV shows that can be watched on demand, for free. With the update, it will show recommendations from the Popular Now section, so you’ll know all about the currently trending shows.
To access LG Channels, you’ll need to purchase a TV that’s made by LG itself, or else download it on an Android or iOS device. Note that the specific channel lineup may vary based on the device you’re using.
It should be noted that not every country has access to LG Channels. The service is available in the U.S., U.K., Canada, plus Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru in Latin America, and in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. In Asia/Oceania, it can be accessed from South Korea, Japan and Australia only.
The good news is that LG is planning to make Channels available in more territories in the near future, though it hasn’t yet said where.
