latest
LG support site details a very pokey Android 11 update plan
Some phones have a timeline as late as Q4 2021
So far, the only notable LG devices we've seen updated to Android 11 are the V60 and the Velvet (in South Korea, anyway). According to a support page on LG's German site, a few more phones will get the big software bump ... just don't expect them to be especially timely. Why would you, at this point?
So the Surface Duo didn't quite pan out to be the perfect dual-screen phone, but there are alternatives — even if they aren't quite as physically elegant. The LG G8X is a flagship Android phone with a detachable second screen, and now you can get it unlocked for just $499.99. That's $450 lower than the original MSRP, though the phone has sold for closer to 0-700 lately.
For those looking for a more affordable dual-screen smartphone than Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip or Galaxy Fold, LG's G8X ThinQ isn't a bad option. Available in the US through a couple of carriers, the AT&T model of the G8X has just begun receiving its Android 10 update, following in the footsteps of the unlocked version and the Sprint variant.
LG V60 ThinQ Dual Screen review: Low-key flagship with a smart price
Power, performance, and even a secondary display could have you wondering why anyone would pay over a grand for a phone
LG's got a new design language in the works — a fresh take on its phones that's supposed to usher the company into this decade with a clean look and some updated thinking towards flagship hardware. But before we turn the page to that next chapter, we've still got its first big 2020 launch to check out, the 5G-equipped, Dual Screen, 865-packing LG V60 ThinQ.Granted, that's still a pretty steep bill, but compared to a $1,200 Galaxy S20+ or $1,400 S20 Ultra, the V60 stands out with its "mere" three-digit sticker price. We've seen what OnePlus has been able to do and slide in under that thousand-dollar mark — what about LG? Did LG make any serious sacrifices to give us a $900 phone, or is this one of the better flagship deals around? Let's take a look:
LG unveils the V60 ThinQ 5G with dual screens, 5000mAh battery, and a 64MP camera
Another dual-screen phone in an increasingly folding-screen world
For the past few years, LG has introduced its mainstream G-series flagship in late winter or early spring, followed by a larger, more creator-focused V-series phone a few months later. We saw that routine begin to get shaken up last fall with the launch of the G8X (complete with its Dual Screen accessory hoping to steal a little thunder from the folding-phone craze), and now that shift continues not with the introduction of a presumptive G9, but instead with an early new entry to the V series, the LG V60 ThinQ 5G.
LG is having a hard time pushing timely software updates even to its flagship range, despite having a dedicated Software Upgrade Center for this exact purpose. The South Korean brand did begin updating a few of its V- and G-series phones to Android 10 in the last couple of months, but not all these releases have yet to see international availability, and many users remain clueless as to when the update notification might pop up on their LG handsets. To smooth their ruffled feathers, LG Italy recently published its Android 10 update roadmap.
Every smartphone manufacturer wants to get in on the ground floor of the latest trends, and in 2019 the name of the game is “folding.” After teasing flexible technology at trade shows for years, we're finally seeing the arrival of big-screen phones that bend down the middle for easy storage. But other companies are turning to more old-school tech to accomplish a similar feat, like LG and its dual-screen hardware. After getting started with the V50, LG's back with its follow-up: the G8X with Dual Screen case.
Google is always hard at work on adding ARCore support to new devices. This time around, those include the brand-new Note10 and 10+, but other than that, a bigger shift has occurred on the company's AR front – that is, if you count marketing and naming schemes as big shifts. The catchy ARCore Play Store listing makes way for the cumbersome phrase "Google Play Service for AR." The change has already been visible for a while, but the company only introduced the new name in the app's changelog last week, along with announcing support for 60fps rendering on capable devices.
Enhanced gaming has been one of the most consistently promoted features of LG phones that support its Dual Screen hardware. Until now, the only gaming-centric improvement available for these devices has been the ability to use the second display as a dedicated gamepad. Now we're finally seeing games introduce some bespoke functionality for that second panel, with the release of a dual-screen edition of Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War.
If LG seems particularly out of sorts this year, you could probably tack a lot of that to its contorted phone release schedule: it announced the V50 alongside the G8, released the G8 in April and then the V50 (with its 5G-ness) in June, then decided to fill its IFA booth in September with a dual-screen remix of the G8, the G8X. Today, we're learning when that phone will go on sale in the United States.
LG seems really invested in making Dual Screen cases for its phones, expanding the amount of real estate available to smartphone users while bypassing the engineering requirements of a folding phone. There's one for the V50 and one for the sorta all-new G8X that just debuted at IFA 2019. But there's one detail that about that Dual Screen case for the G8X that seems particularly fishy and quite ugly.
LG's smartphone division is not in a good place. It hasn't been in a good place for the last five years, frankly, but 2019 has felt especially rough on Korea's number-two electronics giant. For the first time in a long time, most tech publications really don't even bother mentioning LG phones in the same breath as Samsung's. OnePlus, Google, Huawei, and even domestic Chinese manufacturers like Vivo and Oppo now command far more attention for their products and announcements. LG is increasingly an afterthought.
The IFA 2019 trade show in Berlin is just around the corner, and we now know a little more about what to expect from LG. The South Korean OEM looks set to launch an updated version of the LG G8 from earlier in the year alongside the dual-screen V60 it teased last week. Renders of the LG G8X, as it will reportedly be marketed, are now circulating courtesy of leaker Steve H.McFly, better known as @OnLeaks.