It was delivered yesterday. Some thoughts:
- Local edge dimming is really noticeable when, for example, an app is loading and showing a logo on an otherwise black screen. There's a beam of backlight shining up from the bottom around the logo. You can't really tell while watching content... at least I can't.
- The wiimote-style remote control (and the mouse pointer that goes with it) has a learning curve but works fine once you get used to it. The combined scroll wheel and OK button sticks every once in a while, which is weird. I guess I could get the remote replaced on warranty.
- Only one HDMI ARC, it seems? That's reserved for the soundbar, which means I can't control my Apple TV from the TV remote anymore. Haven't yet checked if there's a setting or workaround for this, I just noticed it didn't work last night after I got things set up.
- It seems I accidentally bought a TV with Airplay and Homekit support, which is neat. It will get Airplay 2 and Apple TV+ too "later in 2019". I thought this was reserved for higher-end TVs, but apparently not. This means that not being able to control the Apple TV via ARC isn't a big deal at all.
- WebOS is fluid, good looking, snappy and easy to use. Much, much more coherent and less messy than the Philips rendition of Android 8 for sure. The apps I use the most (Youtube, Netflix) look identical to the Android counterparts. There wasn't much preinstalled crap either.
- One thing that WebOS has in common with Android is that app developers seem to be free to design their own interfaces for video playback. This means that you can't ever be sure what an app will do when you press Fast Forward or Rewind. On Apple's tvOS, the behavior and UI design is consistent between apps. This is a prime example of where Apple's tight control over things is a Good Thing™.
- LG designed the interface with the idea that live TV is the main use case, because that's where you end up when you turn it on. I do wonder if that's what people still use their TVs for in 2019? I would very much prefer if it booted straight into a homescreen with apps and widgets (clock, weather etc) instead. Live TV could be one of those apps, so I could hide it in a folder with the other stuff I never use.