Among the major smartphone manufacturers, LG is possibly the slowest when it comes to Android updates. Nearly five months after the launch of the stable Android 10, the South Korean company is just coming out with its update roadmap. According to a press release from LG Italy, nine LG smartphones will get the Android 10 update with LG UX 9.0 in 2020.
The LG V50 ThinQ leads the schedule and will gain Android 10 sometime in early February. Android 10 has already been seeded to the South Korean version of this phone.
The dual-screen LG G8X ThinQ will get the big update in Q2 2020. The LG G7, G8S, and V40 will follow it in Q3 2020. The lower-end LG K50S, K40S, K50, and Q60 phones will have to wait for another quarter to get Android 10.
LG promises to improve the software experience of its ambitious dual-screen phone, the LG G8X ThinQ, with the release of Android 10. However, this doesn’t justify the tardy release schedule.
The LG G8 ThinQ is obviously not on the list because Android 10 has already been released for this device. The update started rolling out in the United States last week.
Note that these dates are technically only for LG phones in Italy. However, we’ll likely see similar availability in nearby European countries.
It’s not clear whether the rest of the world would also share this update timeline.
LG’s struggles with Android updates continue
Not long ago, LG’s compatriot Samsung was getting the most flak for slow Android updates. However, the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer has quickly turned things around.
Samsung has already released the Android 10 update to over ten smartphone models and has several more lined up for the next few months.
LG, on the other hand, has released the update to only one device so far. Its Android 10 update roadmap doesn’t inspire much confidence either. It’s disappointing to see that some of LG’s phones will not get the update sooner than Q4 2020.
By the time it finishes pushing out Android 10 to all eligible models, Android 11 would have already been a good few months old. At this rate, the company would find it difficult to keep up with Android updates.
While LG does customize its Android experience, it remains to be seen how different the LG UX 9.0 would look and feel from stock Android.
According to the changelog accompanying the V50 update in South Korea, the company seems to be sticking with Google’s gestures for the navigation menu.