Sprint customers who own an LG V50 ThinQ should now start seeing an update arriving to take the gadget to Android 10. That’s based on recent reports stemming from Reddit users who are indicating that the update has arrived for their devices.
LG’s V50 ThinQ has already updated to Android 10 in the company’s home region as of mid-January. However, this is the first US variant to receive the new firmware.
In that region, the firmware included several changes not expressly laid out by the cited source. Namely, device owners saw a new pop-up window mode added and a December 2019 security patch update. Changes to the camera also separated photo and video captures into their own respective modes.
What’s in the update to Android 10 for the LG V50?
LG is bringing a lot more than minor changes to its UI. The Android 10 update is among the most impactful to-date for the platform and the South Korean tech giant is bringing quite a few changes to align with that.
Not least among incoming alterations is the addition of Android 10’s Night Mode. Found under Settings, in the Display submenu, Night Mode does precisely what its name implies. It darkens the overall UI from notifications to system and secondary apps that support it. LG has taken that a step further with its own update, tacking in darkened widgets, wallpapers, and alarms when the mode is active.
The company has also adjusted app icons and colors for clarity. Simultaneously, it’s made alterations to the layout of tiles, buttons, and UI elements to reduce the amount of screen space that’s wasted.
Animations have been improved to both be more playful and to playback more smoothly.
Of course, the company is also stacking in Google’s full-screen gesture navigation features. For clarity, those are tied in with Android’s latest navigation enhancements. The most commonly used of those is likely to be the new “back” gesture. Taking the place of the still-frequently-used “back” icon, users can now swipe from the left or right edge of the screen to accomplish the same task.
Here’s how to get the update now
Now, firmware updates typically arrive over-the-air. That means that users should start seeing a prompt in notifications to kick off the update process. Of course, in the US, that’s only going to apply to Sprint customers for the time being. Verizon generally follows fairly close behind with its update and those are the only two US carriers offering this LG device.
For those who want to update their Sprint LG V50 ThinQ to Android 10 a bit sooner, that’s also a possibility. Navigating to the Settings app, users will need to find the “About Phone” section. That’s located near the bottom of the page. Within that section, there’s another “Software” submenu option that needs to be selected. Then users must pick the “Check for update” option.
Users should make sure their gadgets are charged up and that they have a solid data or Wi-Fi connection before starting. They’ll also need to wait through a device restart and a short app optimization process. During that time, the device will be unusable.