The smartphone market got a little smaller over the past year. Not because of smartphone sales (although that's another story), but because we lost a major Android OEM. LG has been in the game for quite some time, making phones we all remember like the media-focused LG Chocolate before switching over to smartphones. The company launched its first Android smartphone in 2009 and was among the top Android brands, although perpetually in the shadow of Samsung and eventually could not make money off its phones.
LG eventually bowed out of the game in 2021, leaving things up to OEMs like Motorola and TCL to fill the gap in the U.S. However, LG still supports its best phones to some degree, churning out the occasional software update. With that said, we want to know if you're still holding onto your LG phone or if you've moved on.
When LG announced its departure from smartphones, the company promised to continue supporting its phones. Premium devices released in 2019 and onward would receive up to three platform upgrades, while lower-end phones would get two. That's quite a promise for a company that was already known as the worst offender regarding updates even when the business was still up and running, and many feared that we had no reason to believe LG.
But the company has seemingly kept its promise.
Phones like the LG V60 and LG Velvet have received additional platform updates since LG's exit, bringing them up to speed this year with Android 12. Those phones were launched in 2020, running Android 10, so we should expect at least one more platform update for these devices. There aren't many visual changes here, but the update does include new privacy features and performance enhancements. The 2019 LG G8 ThinQ has started receiving Android 12 in LG's home country, which is its final platform update.
The same goes for the LG Wing, although for now, it seems to be stuck on Android 11 (I'm twiddling my thumbs, waiting for Android 12). However, while the Wing waits to receive more love from LG, one developer decided to give the phone new life by turning it into a handheld game console, or part of it at least.
With Android 13 already rolling out on Pixel smartphones, many OEMs are expected to update their phones later this year. We haven't heard anything from LG, but this will likely be the last update for LG's last batch of smartphones. But for those of us still holding onto the past, it should at least keep us going for a while longer.
