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Op-ed: A dumb TV would be better.
LG's says it designed its Easy TV for senior citizens. Credit: LG
LG is looking to create a new market: TVs for senior citizens. However, I can't help thinking that the answer for a TV that truly prioritizes the needs of older people is much simpler—and cheaper.
On Thursday, LG announced the Easy TV in South Korea, aiming it at the “senior TV market,” according to a Google translation of the press release. One of the features that LG has included in attempts to appeal to this demographic is a remote control with numbers. Many remotes for smart TVs, streaming sticks, and boxes don’t have numbered buttons, with much of the controller's real estate dedicated to other inputs.
The Easy TV's remote. Credit: LG
LG released a new version of its Magic Remote in January with a particularly limited button selection that is likely to confuse or frustrate newcomers. In addition to not having keys for individual numbers, there are no buttons for switching inputs, play/pause, or fast forward/rewind.
LG's 2025 Magic Remote. Credit: Tom's Guide/YouTube
The Easy TV’s remote has all of those buttons, plus mute, zoom, and bigger labels. The translated press release also highlights a button that sounds like “back” and says that seniors can push it to quickly return to the previous broadcast. The company framed it as a way for users to return to what they were watching after something unexpected occurs, such as an app launching accidentally or a screen going dark after another device is plugged into the TV.
You’ll also find the same sort of buttons that you typically find with new smart TV remotes these days, including buttons for launching specific streaming services.
Beyond the remote, LG tweaked its operating system for TVs, webOS, to focus on “five senior-focused features and favorite apps” and use a larger font, the translated announcement said.
Some Easy TV features are similar to those available on LG’s other TVs, but tailored to use cases that LG believes seniors are interested in. For instance, LG says seniors can use a reminder feature for medication alerts, set up integrated video calling features to quickly connect with family members who can assist with TV problems or an emergency, and play built-in games aimed at brain health.
To create the Easy TV, LG said it took its LG QNED Evo (QNED85A) and adjusted it to make the picture brighter and more color-saturated, and boosted audio for dialogue.
Today, the 65-inch QNED85A has an MSRP of 2,590,000 won (about $1,837) in South Korea and $900 in the US. The 75-inch version is unavailable from LG's South Korean store, but it would be priced similarly higher than the US MSRP of $1,150. The Easy TV is pricier at 2,769,000 won (about $1,964) for 65 inches and 3,869,000 won (about $2,744) for 75 inches.
What is a TV for senior citizens, anyway?
LG is hoping to help spark a market of TVs for seniors. In the US, JubileeTV tries to appeal to seniors (and their families) by offering a box that enables easy access from a remote location via a dedicated mobile app. The idea is to make it easier for more tech-savvy family members to troubleshoot and perform other tasks, such as setting reminders.
People can buy JubileeTV for a one-time fee or through monthly or annual subscriptions. Credit: JubileeTV
JubileeTV differs from Easy TV in that it allows seniors to pick their own TV. However, both devices assume that people who are 65 and older struggle to operate today's TVs. LG’s deduction is based on “over 70 percent of TV-related inquiries from senior customers received at its service centers [being] simply about difficulties in operating the TV,” per its translated announcement. While some elderly people have limitations (including interest, time, budget, or health) that preclude them from learning new technologies, technology has become so ingrained in society that there are plenty of senior-aged technologists and even more seniors who buy and use all types of modern gadgets, from tablets to smart home products.
That’s not to say that offering an easier-to-digest webOS home screen and a more functional, legible remote isn’t appreciated. But those are things that people of all ages could appreciate. You don’t have to be retired to want a TV that displays what you want to watch when you turn it on, instead of fluffy bonus features and ads.
Further muddying Easy TV's purported identity: a dedicated AI button on the remote. It seems unlikely that someone who needs their TV to provide near-instant access to technical support needs an AI button.
An easier TV
If OEMs really want to make TVs feel simpler and more familiar to older crowds, they should sell more dumb TVs.
Seniors are definitely streaming, but they're also the largest remaining demographic of broadcast viewers. In the US, 64 percent of Americans age 65 and older have a cable or satellite subscription, according to Pew Research data.
Senior citizens used dumb TVs for decades. TVs that don't connect to the Internet can still access streaming services through simple solutions, like streaming sticks or connecting a computer. With a dumb TV, you don’t have to learn how to operate software that varies among TV brands, think about updates, or worry about privacy. Smart TVs introduced concerns about snooping that today's older TV viewers lived without for years. Dumb TVs could help protect the less informed without them having to decipher lengthy terms written in tiny print.
A dumb TV would be cheaper, too, which would benefit seniors with fixed incomes. Instead, LG is offering an expensive, big-screen smart TV with integrated software that it can monetize.
Yet another angle that a TV for seniors could take, which doesn't seem prevalent with the Easy TV, is attentiveness to accessibility features that are simple to activate.
That said, many of the features I described could appeal to adults who are under 65. However, TVs aimed at seniors could be lucrative for companies like LG. The Seoul-headquartered company's translated announcement notes that the population of people age 65 years and older “exceeded 10 million at the end of last year, accounting for 20 percent of the total registered population" in South Korea, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of South Korea. LG views TVs for seniors as another potential emerging category, similar to its StanByMe line of giant tablets on wheels.
Seniors could benefit more from TVs with familiar interfaces, affordability, and privacy than from a mildly tweaked TV with an upcharge. However, with the amount of money being made through TV software ads and tracking, those traits are of waning interest for OEMs.
LG's says it designed its Easy TV for senior citizens. Credit: LG
LG is looking to create a new market: TVs for senior citizens. However, I can't help thinking that the answer for a TV that truly prioritizes the needs of older people is much simpler—and cheaper.
On Thursday, LG announced the Easy TV in South Korea, aiming it at the “senior TV market,” according to a Google translation of the press release. One of the features that LG has included in attempts to appeal to this demographic is a remote control with numbers. Many remotes for smart TVs, streaming sticks, and boxes don’t have numbered buttons, with much of the controller's real estate dedicated to other inputs.
The Easy TV's remote. Credit: LG
LG released a new version of its Magic Remote in January with a particularly limited button selection that is likely to confuse or frustrate newcomers. In addition to not having keys for individual numbers, there are no buttons for switching inputs, play/pause, or fast forward/rewind.
LG's 2025 Magic Remote. Credit: Tom's Guide/YouTube
The Easy TV’s remote has all of those buttons, plus mute, zoom, and bigger labels. The translated press release also highlights a button that sounds like “back” and says that seniors can push it to quickly return to the previous broadcast. The company framed it as a way for users to return to what they were watching after something unexpected occurs, such as an app launching accidentally or a screen going dark after another device is plugged into the TV.
You’ll also find the same sort of buttons that you typically find with new smart TV remotes these days, including buttons for launching specific streaming services.
Beyond the remote, LG tweaked its operating system for TVs, webOS, to focus on “five senior-focused features and favorite apps” and use a larger font, the translated announcement said.
Some Easy TV features are similar to those available on LG’s other TVs, but tailored to use cases that LG believes seniors are interested in. For instance, LG says seniors can use a reminder feature for medication alerts, set up integrated video calling features to quickly connect with family members who can assist with TV problems or an emergency, and play built-in games aimed at brain health.
To create the Easy TV, LG said it took its LG QNED Evo (QNED85A) and adjusted it to make the picture brighter and more color-saturated, and boosted audio for dialogue.
Today, the 65-inch QNED85A has an MSRP of 2,590,000 won (about $1,837) in South Korea and $900 in the US. The 75-inch version is unavailable from LG's South Korean store, but it would be priced similarly higher than the US MSRP of $1,150. The Easy TV is pricier at 2,769,000 won (about $1,964) for 65 inches and 3,869,000 won (about $2,744) for 75 inches.
What is a TV for senior citizens, anyway?
LG is hoping to help spark a market of TVs for seniors. In the US, JubileeTV tries to appeal to seniors (and their families) by offering a box that enables easy access from a remote location via a dedicated mobile app. The idea is to make it easier for more tech-savvy family members to troubleshoot and perform other tasks, such as setting reminders.
People can buy JubileeTV for a one-time fee or through monthly or annual subscriptions. Credit: JubileeTV
JubileeTV differs from Easy TV in that it allows seniors to pick their own TV. However, both devices assume that people who are 65 and older struggle to operate today's TVs. LG’s deduction is based on “over 70 percent of TV-related inquiries from senior customers received at its service centers [being] simply about difficulties in operating the TV,” per its translated announcement. While some elderly people have limitations (including interest, time, budget, or health) that preclude them from learning new technologies, technology has become so ingrained in society that there are plenty of senior-aged technologists and even more seniors who buy and use all types of modern gadgets, from tablets to smart home products.
That’s not to say that offering an easier-to-digest webOS home screen and a more functional, legible remote isn’t appreciated. But those are things that people of all ages could appreciate. You don’t have to be retired to want a TV that displays what you want to watch when you turn it on, instead of fluffy bonus features and ads.
Further muddying Easy TV's purported identity: a dedicated AI button on the remote. It seems unlikely that someone who needs their TV to provide near-instant access to technical support needs an AI button.
An easier TV
If OEMs really want to make TVs feel simpler and more familiar to older crowds, they should sell more dumb TVs.
Seniors are definitely streaming, but they're also the largest remaining demographic of broadcast viewers. In the US, 64 percent of Americans age 65 and older have a cable or satellite subscription, according to Pew Research data.
Senior citizens used dumb TVs for decades. TVs that don't connect to the Internet can still access streaming services through simple solutions, like streaming sticks or connecting a computer. With a dumb TV, you don’t have to learn how to operate software that varies among TV brands, think about updates, or worry about privacy. Smart TVs introduced concerns about snooping that today's older TV viewers lived without for years. Dumb TVs could help protect the less informed without them having to decipher lengthy terms written in tiny print.
A dumb TV would be cheaper, too, which would benefit seniors with fixed incomes. Instead, LG is offering an expensive, big-screen smart TV with integrated software that it can monetize.
Yet another angle that a TV for seniors could take, which doesn't seem prevalent with the Easy TV, is attentiveness to accessibility features that are simple to activate.
That said, many of the features I described could appeal to adults who are under 65. However, TVs aimed at seniors could be lucrative for companies like LG. The Seoul-headquartered company's translated announcement notes that the population of people age 65 years and older “exceeded 10 million at the end of last year, accounting for 20 percent of the total registered population" in South Korea, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of South Korea. LG views TVs for seniors as another potential emerging category, similar to its StanByMe line of giant tablets on wheels.
Seniors could benefit more from TVs with familiar interfaces, affordability, and privacy than from a mildly tweaked TV with an upcharge. However, with the amount of money being made through TV software ads and tracking, those traits are of waning interest for OEMs.
