LG unveiled the G7 ThinQ flagship in May 2018 with pre-installed Android 8.0 Oreo and notched Display. The LG V35 ThinQ flagship is an upgraded version of V30 ThinQ, powered by Snapdragon 845 chipset and also comes with pre-installed Android 8.0 Oreo.
The upcoming major update for V35 and G7 flagships is Android 9 Pie. Google released the Android 9.0 P first preview on March 8th and later came up with DP2 cum first Beta with remarkable features at I/O 2018 on May 8th. Later, in June and July, DP3 and DP4 arrived for the registered Pixel and Pixel 2 users. The fifth cum final preview arrived on July 25th with Final system behaviours and later on August 6th, the Search giant pushedout the stable Android 9 update with the codename of Pie.
Editor’s Pick : LG G8 ThinQ Release Date, Exclusive Features and rumour roundup
When LG G7 and V35 ThinQ will get Android Pie ?
Previously, we expected that LG would release the update sooner because of Project Treble of Oreo. But the South Korean tech giant took so much time to develop Pie update for G7 flagship and rolled out the Beta version on November 21st in its home country only. The registered G7 ThinQ users in South Korea received Beta 2 with some improvements, later in December 2018. Finally, LG announced in Korean its official blog that they will kick off the Global rollout of stable update of Pie for G7 ThinQ from January 1st, 2019. As usual, the rollout may begin in South Korea in the first week of January and spread to other Asian countries in Second and third weeks of January.
The unlocked G7 ThinQ users in the US and UK may receive the update notification in mid or late-January. Carrier locked G7 ThinQ devices might receive the update from February onwards and rollout dates depend upon carrier and region.
The flagships V40 ThinQ and V35 ThinQ stand next G7 to receice the Pie update. Since, even the Beta testing hasn’t begun for V40 and V35 flagships atleast in South Korea, we expect LG to rollout the Pie update for V35 ThinQ in Q2 of 2019. The confirmed rollout dates of Android Pie for V35 ThinQ will be posted here, as soon as LG announced them.
Android Pie Exclusive Features
Android Pie arrived with many notable features like Gesture based Interface, Screenshot Editor, New Messaging style, Revamped Message notifications, App actions, Digital wellbeing, Adaptive battery and many more.
1. Gesture based Interface
The Gesture based Interface is one of the new features coming with the Android Pie update to LG G7 and V35 devices to revamp the user experience totally. In Android P, there is no app previews button in navigation bar and the shapes of other buttons are also changed. The Back button changed from a Triangle to a Chevron while the Home button takes a pill shape.
To view Recent Apps, user just swipe up on the Home button, then app previews will appear. G7 and V35 users can swipe horizontally to open the required app and this makes multi-tasking really simple. User can also swipe right or left on the Home button to switch between apps quickly.
Editor’s Pick : Android 9 Pie update is coming soon for LG V30 and V30S ThinQ
A Keyboard toggle icon also appear on the Navbar while typing at where the Recent apps button was present. So users can toggle between different keyboards while typing easily.
2. Adaptive Battery
Adaptive Battery is a remarkable feature to improve battery life coming with the Android P. In the predecessor of Android 9.0, Google brought background app restrictions to reduce battery drain. Now with the Adaptive Battery feature, battery life will be improved upto 30%, according to Dave Burke, VP of Android Engineering.
Adaptive Battery uses on-device machine learning to perceive the user’s app usage habits and adjust the device accordingly. The feature determine which apps and services, user is going to use in the next few hours and devotes resources only to them and reduces resources to sparingly used apps. So CPU wake cycles are reduced upto 30 percent, so 30 percent more battery will be available.
3. Screenshot Markup Editor
With the Android P update, a native Screenshot Editor feature is coming to G7 ThinQ and V35 ThinQ users. After taking the screenshot, a heads-up notification with the Edit option will appear, tapping on the Edit, later on Markup Editor, user can open it.
In the Mark up Editor, user can add details and highlight details by using the Pen and Highlighter tools in seven colors. There are also Undo and Redo options in the Markup Editor along with Pen and Highlighter options. Users can also crop screenshots in the Editor by dragging over the edges.
4. Revamped Messaging Style
Google refined Notifications very much in the previous Nougat and Oreo updates and now Android P came with more improvements. App developers can use Android P Messaging Style to display inline images, stickers and even suggest smart replies.
Using the smart replies feature, users can give quick reply directly from Notifications. More details about the feature are yet to be revealed.
5. Improvements to Do Not Disturb
Google rolled out the Shush feature with the Android Pie update enhance Do Not Disturb facility in Android OS. With this feature, when the user keeps his G7 or V35 flagship face down on the table, the Shush feature activated automatically and mute all calls, notification beeps, pings and events. Only whitelisted contacts can get through it in case of emargencies.
So user can reduce the time spent on the device by using Shush and Digital well being features. It seems that, with these features, Google is taking steps to reduce smart phone addiction and promote healthy usage.
6. Digital wellbeing
The Digital wellbeing feature is still in beta stage, available only for Google Pixel and Pixel 2 users and didn’t come along with the Android 9 Pie official build. However, the Search giant announced that the feature will be finalized soon and rollout begins in this fall. So LG may include this feature in its Pie update for G7 ThinQ and V35 flagships.
Digital wellbeing is comprised mainly of three features which are Dashboard, Winddown and App timer. Using the dashboard, the user can check how many times the device has been unlocked, how much time spent on each app and so on. The App timer helps to restrict the time spent on individual apps and reduce addiction to games, social media etc. Wind down is another notable feature to reduce eye strain, it changes the display to gray scale automatically if the user is using phone at night time.
7. Improved Volume Controls
The Search Giant has improved volume sliders and their buttons in the Android Pie update. When user taps volumer rocker physical buttons on V35 or G7 the volume slider will appear vertically on the right side of the screen instead of top. On pressing the buttons, only media volume can be increased unlike Ring volume in earlier Android versions.
Users can tap on the Note icon below the vertical slider to mute or unmute. To enter the Sound Section in Settings, users tap on the Gear icon below the note icon. The new volume controls also remember the Bluetooth volume differently than other volumes, so that ear buds won’t play at full volume and only play at the previously remember level.
8. App Slices
The App slices is one of the new features in the Android Pie update which are very much useful for both app developers and also users. Using the feature, developers can make their apps to look more initiative and provide good user experience. According to the preview shown by Google at I/O 2018 event, when the user type in Google search bar as Lyft, along with the app itself, ride details like fare and time to various places will also appear.
Update on 5/7/2019 :
The major US carriers have begun the rollout of Android Pie for G7 ThinQ. Back in January, LG began the rollout of Pie for G7 in South Korea only. Now popular US carriers like Verizon, US cellular, Metro are rolling out the Android 9 update, according to multiple reports in Reddit. Users are able to get the update through OTA in the US.
Some G7 users in Europe are also able to receive the through OTA. But it seems that the update is available in LG bridge. So we recommend users to update their devices through LG bridge software in PC if the OTA hasn’t shown up.
Update on 27/4/2019 :
According to My LG Phones, the South Korean tech giant begins the rollout of Android 9 Pie for V35 devices in its home country. The update is rolling out through OTA and users can also upgrade their devices using LG Bridge software. Both unlocked and carrier locked editions of LG V35 are getting the update in South Korea.
So it seems that in the US and European countries too, the rollout will begin shortly. According to rumours, LG is testing the update for V35 and other flagships in the US. So the rollout may begin in late-May or early-June. We will post the official rollout dates here, as soon as LG announced them.
Update on 6/4/2019 :
Finally, the South Korean tech giant announced the time frame for the rollout of Android Pie for LG V35 and V30. According to the statement by LG South Korea, the flagships will get the update in Q2 of 2019. So the Pie rollout for the V35 flagship will begin soon, atleast in South Korea. However, the users in the US and Europe will have to more time, as the rollout spreads after one or two months after initial rollout in South Korea.
LG released the kernel source of V40, a few days ago and now the Kernel source of V30 also came out. So custom rom developers can cook their roms using the official Kernel sources. We will post the official rollout dates here, as soon as LG announced them. So please keep visiting this page regularly to know more details about the update.
Update on 15/3/2019 :
Google released the first Beta of Android Q on 13th, March with many improvements to privacy options and Desktop mode. One of the remarkable improvement is location and file sharing permissions specific for apps. Some rumours and the commits in the development site indicate the Android Q Beta for more devices this year. Last time, Android P Beta arrived for Sony, Essential, Nokia, Vivo, Oneplus, Oppo flagships other than the Pixel lineup. This time, other tech giants like LG may also participate in Android Beta program. So the flagship devices like G7 ThinQ and G8 might get the update in the part of the Beta program soon. We will post more updates about Android Q for LG flagships in coming days.
Update on 2/8/2018 :
The Search Giant released the Android P Beta 4 for Pixel and Pixel 2 beta registered owners on July 26th. The Preview 5 contains final system behaviours, so developers can test their apps for Android 9.0. The preview brought no major changes but the microphone icon is removed from the Pixel launcher Search bar. The autorotate button in Quick Settings has also got changed in design.
The public release of Android P will take place in August 20th, according to evleaks on Twitter. Previously, Android Nougat arrived on August 22nd and Android Oreo on August 21st, so it seems that the claim is legible. However, as nothing has been official, we have to take this with a pinch of salt. In coming days, more details about the Android P release and official name will be revealed.
Update on 13/8/2018 :
Google released the Android 9 final edition with the codename of Pie which really awesome and sweet, on August 6th. The rollout for Essential Phone, Pixel and Pixel 2 devices begins already and the partner devices like Xperia XZ2 and Nokia flagships stand next to receive the update. The Android Pie update doesn’t contain App Slices and Digital well being features. The Search giant announced that they will come to Pixel devices before the end of this fall.
HTC and Sony announced which of thier flagships are going to receive the update soon. But LG didn’t announce any thing about the Android Pie rollout for its flagships.
Update on 5/12/2018 :
On November 21st, LG began the registration for Pie Beta and started the beta rollout for G7 users in South Korea. The beta is available to download via the Quick Help app. A few hours ago, the tech giant rolls out the second beta for G7 ThinQ devices. A G7 ThinQ user from South Korea uploaded a video showing the G7 running on Pie beta 2.
The video gives a glimpse about how Android Pie is working on G7 and shows Gesture Home button, adaptive battery, Adaptive brightness and Digital wellbeing functions. Finally, it seems that the Pie update is going to make G7 ThinQ more userfrindly and faster. The unlocked G7 ThinQ users in the US and Europe may have to wait few weeks, before previewing Pie on their devices.
Update on 29/12/2018 :
Finally, LG officially announces that the stable Pie update will rollout to G7 ThinQ in Q1 of 2019, at least in its home country, South Korea. The Global rollout dates for G7 are yet to be revealed.
Previously, we expected the stable rollout of Pie might begin in December, as the Beta registration and rollout starts in November. But now it seems that LG is going to to test the Beta build longer than anticipated. So, more likely the global rollout of Pie for G7 will begin in Q1 of 2019. The official rollout dates will be revealed in coming days.
Update on 17/1/2019 :
According to LG’s post in Korean, the tech giant set to rollout the Pie update for G7 ThinQ from January 1st. However, we haven’t received any tips from users that they have got Pie. So it seems that LG is pushing out the update for select users in its home country, South Korea only. As officials indicated earlier, the South Korean tech giant should start the global rollout of Pie with G7 ThinQ in Q1 of 2019.
Carrier locked G7 owners in the US and UK may have to wait more time to taste a slice of Pie. There is no word officially regarding the rollout for V35 ThinQ, but most likely the Pie rollout will disseminate to V35 shortly after G7. Mean while, rumours claim that LG is going to launch the successor of G7 under the name of G8 ThinQ at MWC 2019 in late-February with preloaded Android Pie.
We will update this post soon with more details about the Android Pie update for G7 ThinQ and V35 ThinQ.
