It has now been revealed that LG is ready to start rolling out the LG G8 ThinQ update to Android 10 beta. As per the company’s announcement, the rollout is currently for a test run of the new firmware and it isn’t going to be available everywhere all at once. So not everybody will be able to download it right away.
The initial rollout of Android 10 beta will be in its home country of South Korea. The same will apply next month with the rollout for the LG V50 ThinQ. Other regions will follow as work progresses and more devices will see an update throughout 2020.
Getting involved in the beta program, as with any other OEM, is a straightforward affair. That is, as long as users are prepared to deal with some pre-release bugs.
Everything starts with LG’s preinstalled Quick Help application. Within that app, there should be an option to upgrade to the beta firmware. Users will need to seek out that registration, which will likely be in one of the settings submenus. LG hasn’t been clear on that front. Once registered, the beta software will arrive as a subsequent update to the device.
What’s in the Android 10 beta update for LG G8 ThinQ?
In terms of what users can expect from the Android 10 beta update for the G8 ThinQ, LG lists several key changes. First, the company’s flagship will be taking full advantage of the new “Full Gesture Navigation” included with the update. That’s this iteration’s improvements to the gesture navigation introduced with and largely ignored by OEMs in Android 9 Pie.
The company is also implementing the new privacy and security features with the new firmware. Namely, LG points to the Android 10 changes that allow app permissions to be reset.
Additionally, the UI found on the device will be adjusted to work around “simple and intuitive” card-based operations. That will include menu tabs and pop-ups. The standard was started with the launch of the LG V50S ThinQ and will be brought to all current flagships with Android 10.
One feature not mentioned by LG is the Android 10 system-wide dark mode. That also applies automatically to a growing number of Android applications. The change makes it easy for users to switch every applicable element and app to a darkened theme by adjusting a single setting.
It may be that feature isn’t in place yet, is still under testing, or that LG simply didn’t think it warranted a mention in its list of new features. Dark theming has been among the most asked-after features, so it’s difficult to imagine LG skipping it entirely.
Is the official update going to land soon?
It isn’t immediately clear whether or not the 2020 update timeline applies to the official update rather than beta programs. Given the purpose of the rollout in LG’s announcement, it seems likely that it’s for the finalized version. The company may also plan that timeline for other LG devices at the same time.
That’s based on the fact that the company explicitly says it’s trying to reinspire trust in its dedicated Software Upgrade Center. The center hasn’t been a resounding success, only managing to bring Android 9 Pie to the LG G7 ThinQ in June. Prior to that, updates have been sparse. That’s despite that the goal of the center — and its promise — was to deliver more frequent updates more quickly.
With that track record and its newly stated goal in mind, it seems more than likely that LG will be rolling out a lot more updates and faster. That includes the updates for Android 10.