The best smart TV platforms ensure they never get in the way of you and your content - these are still TVs after all, not giant wall-mounted tablets. They should be fast to start up, easy to keep updated and, if they're really good, help you locate new shows and movies to watch.
Where once it was about how many apps you had, the Internet connected television is now just as much about what OS is being used.
All smart TVs give access not only to top-tier services like Netflix and Amazon Instant, but to the various digital TV catch up services available, too. Separate apps are one thing, but increasingly the services formally offered by apps are being integrated into the user interface (take LG's webOS 3.5, for instance).
For better or worse, there's no one industry standard. Smart TV platforms tend to change every year or two among the big TV brands. Here in 2017 we've seen a new focus on operating systems, with the likes of LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony all opting for webOS, Tizen, Firefox and Android, respectively.
Let it be said that all of these platforms are usable, functional and most of the time downright enjoyable to use. But while they may look alike on the surface, under the hood there are a plethora of differences between them.
So, what's the best smart TV platform? We've ranked the the world's major connected TV platforms in descending order, putting just as much emphasis on ease of use as app selection, to help you as you buy into a whole new generation of online television. Plus, once you've found a smart TV platform, we've included five of our favourite TVs that use it – that way you'll have a good starting point when it comes time to find the right TV for you.
1. Sony: Android TV
It's official; Sony has the best smart TV platform for the year of 2017. The mere mention of the word Android in relation to a TV will automatically alienate half of all smartphone owners, but Sony is not alone in hoping that the other half will want to go Google in the living room.Sharp and TP-Link's Philips have also joined Sony in embracing the Android TV OS from Google, so it's hardly an industry standard just yet, but Android TV is polished enough to put it in the running.
It's not just in TVs though, you'll find connected boxes, like the Nvidia Shield and Razer Forge TV sporting Google's TV OS too.
2. LG: WebOS
With the arrival of webOS in 2014 , LG's smart TV offering was completely refreshed. All LG smart TVs from 2014 and 2015 got webOS 2.0, and 2016 and 2017 saw the release of webOS 3.0.That was then, but now you can expect to see webOS 3.5 here in 2017.
Much like Samsung's Smart Hub, webOS 3.5 is built around a taskbar that pops-up from the bottom of the screen. Apps, whether a content hub like Netflix or simply a HDMI input on the TV, are treated the same, with a dynamically changing roster across the bottom of the screen. The app icons pop-up, they jig about, they drop-down, and they change order.
It's fast – really fast – but locating something not on this Launcher Bar is actually very difficult. Nor is customising WebOS as easy as it could be.
Content-wise, it's pretty good, with a line-up that includes Netflix, Amazon Instant, Freeview Play, the BBC iPlayer, YouTube, the ITV Player, All 4 and Sky's Now TV.
For US folks there's your standard Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and Google Play TV and Movies, as well as Hulu, VUDU, MLB.TV, and FandangoNow.
Unfortunately, as of webOS 3.5, Spotify is no longer available.
There's a nice flicker panel for scrolling through 'live' sources and apps, and a Today panel across the middle of the screen that gives one-flick access to scrolling cover art for live TV programs and movies.
Dynamic, colourful, but often rather dizzying to use, WebOS is inconsistent in design and dynamics, and takes a while to get to know; all but the tech-savvy can find themselves baffled.
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