A stable version of Android 8.0 Oreo is now hitting LG V30 and V30 Plus units in South Korea, LG Electronics said Tuesday. The company’s newest flagship series debuted in late summer with Android 7.1.2 Nougat, though LG vowed to prioritize it for a jump to the next major iteration of Google’s ubiquitous operating system. With the company now seemingly fulfilling that promise, it shouldn’t be long until all LG V30 and V30 Plus units are running Android 8.0 Oreo, with the firmware being expected to become available on a global level by early 2018. The Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer technically already debuted the stable version of the same software earlier this fall as the Japanese version of the LG V30 marketed as the V35 runs that particular OS build out of the box. Save for the list of pre-installed apps, the two builds are largely identical.
LG has been in the process of testing the new software for more than a month, though the OEM’s beta program was limited to consumers in its home country. The company said more than 500 LG V30 owners actively participated in the test by providing its engineers with feedback, having ultimately helped perfect the firmware which ships with apps that have been specifically optimized for Android 8.0 Oreo. Besides LG’s improvements and the firm’s proprietary skin, the newly introduced software package is largely identical to vanilla Android 8.0 Oreo, meaning users can expect to receive Google’s latest mobile features such as notification channels, robust mobile data and battery management tools, picture-in-picture mode, and notification dots. Compared to Android 7.x Nougat, Oreo doesn’t feature a significant visual overhaul of the OS and instead seeks to provide consumers with a refined take on Google’s mobile experience.
The new firmware should allow for faster boot times and more aggressive anti-malware features, in addition to debuting extra customization options and Bluetooth connectivity improvements. LG is distributing the stable build of Android 8.0 Oreo for the V30 series in the form of an over-the-air package that’s now rolling out in stages. The company‘s next flagship offering that’s widely expected to be the LG G7 should run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and launch at Mobile World Congress 2018 in late February.