LG says it will continue to offer updates to the Android operating system – including an update to Android 12 – for some of its devices after it goes out of the smartphone business, but the company’s poor track record makes us skeptical about it.
In its press release and a US FAQ page, LG says only that it will continue to provide some security and operating system updates, but a page on LG’s Korean website identified by XDA Developers specifically mentions that an “Android 12 operating system update will also be provided for selected models”. This page also states that this is subject to change based on product performance and that the availability of the update may vary by region.
LG US did not share anything more specific when contacted by The Verge, saying only that “LG may offer certain operating system updates for selected models” and that “additional details will be provided in the near future about software updates”. An update schedule for Android 11 has yet to be confirmed for the United States, although details posted on LG’s German website may give a rough idea of how this might be.
Unfortunately, LG was not very reliable with updates, even before its decision to leave the phone market; Operating system updates came slowly, even for major devices. In 2018, the company tried to remedy this by creating a software update division, but when it came time to offer Android 9 Pie updates in early 2019, not much has changed.
If the company delivers on its Android 12 promise, we expect that to happen only on a few high-profile devices, such as the Wing and the V60. And with Android 11 slated to arrive on many of the company’s phones much later this year, even if Update 12 comes, it will probably still take a long time.