Katarzyna Petru
LG has decided to target a very specific group of consumers – seniors who struggle with the operation of modern Smart TVs on a daily basis. The latest LG Easy TV has already debuted in South Korea and will soon be introduced to other markets with "rapidly aging societies" – such as Japan and the United States.
Why was Easy TV created?
Anyone who regularly visits their grandparents knows that modern televisions often present quite a puzzle for them. Instead of the simple menus familiar from the old ‘boxy TVs’, today’s Smart TVs offer a maze of apps, icons, and shortcuts. Remote controls? Instead of classic numbers – a set of buttons for VOD services and functions that can be completely incomprehensible to older people. The result? Plenty of calls to children or grandchildren asking: “how do I turn on my show?”.
QNED for Seniors
In terms of hardware, Easy TV is based on the model LG QNED Evo QNED85A Mini LED 4K, but it has been significantly modified. The manufacturer has enhanced brightness and colour saturation to make viewing easier for people with poor eyesight. Meanwhile, the sound has been optimised for clearer dialogues – ensuring that conversations in films or series are not lost in the background.
The television is available in two sizes – 65” and 75”. In South Korea, the prices are approximately 2.769 million won (~£1469) and 3.869 million won (~£2050) respectively. This is slightly more expensive than the standard QNED, but the differences stem from the additional features.
What makes life easier with Easy TV?
LG has greatly simplified the webOS system. The menu is located at the bottom of the screen, without obscuring the content, and the available options have been limited to five key functions for seniors and favourite apps. The fonts are larger, and the remote has large, easy-to-read buttons – including one huge HELP.
And this is the heart of the entire concept. By pressing it, LG Buddy – the AI assistant – is activated, which:
allows family or caregivers to remotely control the TV,
supports voice control,
enables simple video calls (“call Jan”),
and if necessary, can serve as an alarm function – triple pressing sends an alert to a close person.
However, that’s not all. Easy TV can remind you to take your medication (the Live Alert feature), offers simple memory-stimulating games, and provides a set of navigation aids.
Remote – simpler, yet still feature-rich
Although the new remote is more intuitive than the Magic Remote, it still has plenty of buttons. A bonus for the large numbers, classic play/pause or rewind – these are features that are increasingly lacking in standard remotes.
Technology that truly helps
For older people, technology is often a barrier. However, LG shows that it can also be a support – improving picture and sound quality, making operation easier, and introducing safety features. Easy TV redefines the concept of “accessibility features” and demonstrates that a simple television for seniors is not a step back, but a step forward towards the real needs of users.
Perhaps in a few decades, we will appreciate that such solutions were created – when it's our turn to be grandparents.
