LG smartwatches could soon be running webOS

LG could be bringing the webOS mobile operating system to its next line of smartwatches. According to The Verge, a developer website hosted by LG teased that a software development kit for a webOS smartwatch would be made available soon.

The site has since been taken down, but The Verge managed to grab the images below detailing the potential smartwatch before LG were able to act. LG already uses webOS as the main interface for its range of Smart TVs, and one image even had LG’s Bean Bird character, which takes new TV owners through a webOS tutorial upon initial setup, was seen carrying a round watch on its back. 

While LG employs webOS to great effect in its smart TVs, the operating system has had bit of a rough history. First developed in 2009 by the now defunct Palm and then open-sourced by HP in 2011, it’s been passed through several hands with very little success. However, webOS could be a great fit for smartwatches, as its card-based interface isn’t too dissimilar from Google’s Android Wear interface, which is essentially Google Now cards shrunken down to fit on your wrist. 

A webOS smartwatch wouldn’t be the first wearable from LG, as it already has the LG G Watch on shop shelves and the upcoming G Watch R in the pipeline. Both watches currently run Android Wear, but considering the speed with which LG took down this new developer website, we wouldn’t be surprised if LG announced a webOS successor to the G Watch R in the not too distant future.