The LG home screen has had a major makeover that makes it a whole lot easier to customize and get the most out of your viewing experience in the company's 2023 OLED TVs, including the LG C3 OLED and LG G3 OLED.
The latest version of webOS has completely revamped the LG smart TV’s menu to be much more minimalist and simple to use through the addition of a new 'Quick Menu', which is like the Control Center on iPhone or Quick Settings on Android: you can customize this with key options and settings, so they're just a single button-press away, meaning you might actually use all those options the best TVs have.
The home screen also received a redesign, with new ‘Quick Cards’ that enables you to group apps and services as different display experiences that you can switch between, such as home office, gaming, music and sports.
After spending a month with the LG G3 OLED TV, the new smart TV menu stands out as a surprising game-changer for its ease of use to get the most out of your viewing experience.
While the new operating system isn’t available on older LG TV models like the LG G2 OLED or LG C2 OLED, sadly, you can expect to see it across the whole of this year’s line-up, including the LG B3 OLED.
Is it worth upgrading your set to one of the best OLED TVs in 2023 to access this new smart menu? Well, maybe not on its own – it's the next-generation Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology that makes the G3 significantly brighter than its predecessors that should be the deciding factor instead. But the new settings do mean that you might actually get more from that amazing screen, making it far more worthwhile to put down your card and buy one in the first place.
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The redesign to the company’s smart TV platform has some new handy features compared to last year’s webOS 22 operating system, which was rolled out to all of LG's TVs in 2022 as an upgrade from its previous version, webOS 6.
One of the major updates in LG’s webOS 23 platform is the ‘Quick Menu’ feature, which not only gives you instant access to your TV’s settings but also allows you to customize which of these settings appear in the there.
You can access the ‘Quick Menu’ by clicking on the settings cog icon in the top right corner of your screen. This opens a side-panel menu on the left side of the screen, which has 12 customizable setting cards. These include quick navigation to different picture mode settings, such as cinema, sports, game optimiser and filmmaker, as well as a multi-view, sleep timer, gaming tools, sound modes, and options such as AirPlay 2 connectivity.
For example, most people don't change their TV's processing presets between different modes, such as Sport or Movie, and so on. It's always buried in a menu, and too much hassle to go just because there's a game on. But the new ‘Quick Menu’ feature means you can have them in easy reach – a couple of button pushes and you're done. It's no harder than changing the channel, so you might finally push yourself to use the right setting in the right situation.
For me personally, one of the best options was that I could put the control to turn on AirPlay 2 connectivity right under my fingertip. I like to beam stuff from my phone to my TV, and activating it is annoyingly hard usually… but not with the 'Quick Menu'.
The new home screen's 'Quick Cards' that are lined up in a row in the middle of the screen also allow you to quickly change the set up of your TV for what you're using it for, such as to game, watch movies or sports.
One of these displays is called the ‘Home Hub’, which allows you to connect your home devices to your LG TV – this is also where you can access features like Bluetooth and AirPlay. All the different displays also allow you to see which device, such as a computer or game console, is connected to your TV.
Because the overall presentation is stripped back, the LG TV smart menu is very intuitive to use. Whether you’re a fan of movies and sports, a gamer or simply looking for a second screen, there’s no doubt that LG’s new 'Quick Menu' is a streamlined feature you'll want to make the most of – it really feels like a step backward to go to anything else.
Our favorite smart TV platform
By offering more personalization features, LG’s smart TV platform stands above the rest. Of the smart TV platforms available in 2023, we rate LG’s smart TV menu right at the top for its clean look, quick performance, and wide-ranging support.
At the end of the day, you don’t want anything getting in the way between you and the world’s best streaming service to watch your favorite TV show or movie. As avid movie and TV watchers, this is the kind of update to a smart TV menu that we appreciate.
If you’re someone who doesn’t tinker with the picture settings on your TV then this might not be that exciting, but the thing is… you should do that. We just understand why you didn't before. Most of the TechRadar AV team doesn't, to be honest with you. But this makes it so much easier to explore these enhancement features.
Be sure to check out our full LG C3 review for more on that TV!
