LG has been working to make webOS more than a redundant brand, after acquiring the rights to use the technology and name from HP last year. It looks like the South Korean manufacturer will use webOS for more than just TVs, after a recent developer website showed an LG Smartwatch coming soon, with webOS inside.
It is interesting to see LG divert away from Android Wear, after already developing two smartwatches. The LG G Watch had mixed reception, but early previews of the LG G Watch R show some major improvements in design, coming next month.
Like Samsung, LG is looking for another avenue if Android Wear doesn’t become the next commercial breakthrough. With the introduction of the Apple Watch, LG might be looking to take over both with their own operating system.
LG will be offering an SDK to developers, allowing them to develop apps for the smartwatch. We have not seen how deep this SDK is and if LG can compete with Android Wear and Apple Watch, when it comes to functionality and creativity.
WebOS has had a long and rather saddening past, first named PalmOS, it failed to beat Apple in the mobile race, partly due to Palm’s mismanagement and partly due to HP giving up on the brand after one failure.
LG took it off HP’s hands in 2013 and has been active with the brand since. The LG webOS TV has been heavily marketed in the UK and other areas, showing a new kind of TV interface that is more intuitive than Google TV and works well for basic users.
A few hours after the original post was seen, LG removed it from the developer website. They also told The Verge “there are many initiatives going on at LG at any given moment. The majority of them never see the light of day.” Dousing the idea a webOS smartwatch will be coming any time soon.
