If you recently bought an LG smartphone, you may be wondering whether the product will continue to receive Android updates, since the company is shutting down its mobile phone business.
On Wednesday, the Korean vendor provided an answer: LG announced a “three-year pledge” to deliver Android updates to its premium line of smartphones. It plans to deliver “up to three iterations” of the Android operating system starting from the year the product was originally purchased. (The OS is currently on the Android 11 iteration.)
“The three OS update guarantee applies to LG premium phones released in 2019 and later (G series, V series, Velvet, Wing),” the company said. So if you recently bought the LG Wing 5G which comes with Android 10, presumably you’ll receive Android 11, 12 and 13 down the line.
Meanwhile, the company’s 2020 models for the lower-end LG Style and K series will only receive two Android OS iterations. However, LG cautions the future updates will depend on Google’s “distribution schedule as well as other factors such as device performance and compatibility.”
LG made the pledge as the company hopes to clear out the rest of its product stock, though it will continue making smartphones through June to meet its contractual obligations with carriers and partners.
“This means customers can still purchase LG mobile phones currently in inventory and service support and security software updates will continue to be provided for a period of time for certain devices,” the company added. “Customers should contact their local LG customer service center for additional details."
That said, some users and media outlets have previously complained LG has been abysmally slow to roll out Android updates. LG's own German website says it doesn't plan on rolling out the Android 11 update to the LG Wing until this year's fourth quarter. So it's maybe best to take the company's promise around software updates with a grain of salt.