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The LineageOS custom ROM used to support just about every phone imaginable, but lately the project has been going for quality over quantity. Oreo (15.1) builds have to fulfill stricter requirements to receive official status, and now Lineage is dropping support for 30 unmaintained phones and tablets.
One of the best parts of LineageOS (and its predecessor, CyanogenMod) is that it can breathe life into older devices. Some phones and tablets can end up with several more years of Android updates thanks to the ROM community. Since we last looked at LineageOS, a whopping 10 more devices have been added, most of which are a few years old at this point.
CyanogenMod is virtually the best-known custom ROM out there, and for good reason: it brings the newest version of Android to devices that would otherwise have to wait much longer to receive it, or would never receive it at all. This week, quite a few popular devices have received CyanogenMod 14.1, which is based on Android 7.1 Nougat.
Following in the footsteps of the Verizon LTE versions of the original 8.3-inch and 10.1-inch models, the LG G Pad 7.0 is getting its own update today, at least according to Verizon's typical support update. Owners of the tablet should start seeing the over-the-air update starting sometime in the next 12 hours or so, though of course it could take over a week to reach everyone, thanks to American carriers' habit of staggered software rollouts.
LG G Pad 7.0 LTE owners on the AT&T network who are dissatisfied with the default software may be happy to know that CyanogenMod now officially supports their device. The community has started to roll out fresh nightly builds, with one available as of now.
Congratulations, owners of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and LG G Pad 7.0 LTE on Verizon Wireless! You're getting new software updates today (or tomorrow, or next week, since these things tend to go out in batches). But don't pop the champagne just yet, because these updates are decidedly dull.
Let's get something out of the way right from the start. The LG G Pad 7.0 isn't a particularly exciting piece of hardware. It's powered by a Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. That 7-inch display only provides 1280 by 800 pixels. On the software front, you're looking at Android 4.4.
Big Red has just announced a pair of (kind of) budget-friendly tablets with LTE just in time for the holidays. So why not give someone the gift of a two-year mobile data contract? Well, maybe you should ask first. At any rate, you can get the LG G Pad 7.0 and 10.1 for $49.99 and $199.99 with a new contract, but these are temporary promo prices.
When it comes to Android tablets on US carriers, you're lucky to find anything that isn't Samsung. But LG has been making a determined push as of late - in addition to expanding its G Pad lineup with three new models, they landed last year's G Pad 8.3 on Verizon. Today AT&T announced that it would make the smallest and cheapest current LG tablet, the G Pad 7.0, available on its LTE network starting this Friday, August 8th.