If you want to get a web browser going natively on the display, there are two browsers built in (one Google-built), but the remote control isn’t suitable for navigating them at anything but a laborious speed.
However, when using this mode, the TV made a regular, disconcertingly loud and short buzzing sound, which may make you wary of spending too much time with it. It was pleasing to find that the TV had a screen mirroring option for mobiles too, which connected to an LG G7 without a hitch. But scrolling through Netflix’s rich-media menus can cause delays that lead to you making additional unwarranted button presses, passing by the content you actually wanted. Set-up, for instance, was a breeze, with button pushes registered instantly. It’s a bit pot luck, which is a shame considering the simplicity elsewhere.Ĭertain elements of the interface feel very snappy indeed, while others feel sluggish.
What does appear annoying however is a lack of consistency with the Home button – in our testing, in some instances it will bring up the main menu, in others it won’t register at all, and others it will leave an app entirely. There’s a customisable app shortcuts bar too, letting you quickly find your most-used streaming sources, for instance.
You’ve got a cross-bar menu column to scroll through, with each row offering up individual settings and options, from sources to apps. Set up is simple, and the TV’s (seemingly bespoke) interface is sensibly laid out. On the whole, the interface for the screen is easily navigated and legible. But they’re the sort of thing you’ll probably have mobile alternatives for, better suited to a different device’s form factor.
There are a number of other apps of varying quality and usefulness included from the set’s app store, including Facebook and Twitter and a handful of simple games. While we’ll talk about their performance in a bit more depth shortly, what’s best is that they’re the 4K and HDR-enabled versions of the respective apps, and in the case of Netflix, the Dolby Vision-enabled version too.