A Discouraging Article about LG

[markdoc]

I am sorry to say that I just read an article in Computerland about LG. According to this article, I seemed to have picked a phone whose manufacturer is as bad with updates as my previous one, HTC. Its says they are horrendous about keeping stated upgrade dates. And unfortunately, they have backed it up with our phone. If interested, you can read the article at:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.computerworld.com/article/3389658/lg-upgrade-letdown.amp.html

 

[dontpanicbobby]

So 8.0.0 isn't working for you?

 

[markdoc]

I had 8.0 on my HTC and I'm still trying to figure out on my new phone which is 8.1 and which is LG. There are a number of things I like better now but a few things that were better on my old phone. My main concern is that LG doesn't seems to keep its stated upgrade dates. It's already been about 8 months since Android 9 was released and they just said the upgrade will be out in the 2nd quarter of 2019. I guess time will tell.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

All OEMs lie.

 

[markdoc]

But some lie better than others. I'm not a big fan of the Google company as a whole. But they do release upgrades in a timely manner. (Of course it's easy for them since they write them) HTC used to be the worst. I hope LG doesn't take the title.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

You do know Android is Alphabet now don't you?

 

[tube517]

I have the Note 8 (a 2017 flagship) and the LG V40 and also the V20. T-Mobile.

The Note 8 just got the Pie update and the V40 is showing (T-Mobile) as "Development" stage which means it's going to be a while.

LG/T-Mobile took 2 years to upgrade the V20 to Oreo from Nougat, when it was the first phone to have Nougat.

Last security update for my V40 was the Feb update.

 

[markdoc]

You mean Oreo & Pie? But what does that have to do with getting out upgrades?

 

[tube517]

You mean Oreo & Pie? But what does that have to do with getting out upgrades?

LG is pretty poor with timely updates is my point. 2 years for a phone to go from Nougat to Oreo is pretty bad. Now, I bought the V20 used so I wasn't in the same boat as the original buyers of the phone during launch.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I mean why do you need Pie @markdoc?

 

[markdoc]

So we agree. I wasn't aware how bad LG was when I bought the V40. I erroneously thought that no one could be as bad as HTC. So I didn't think to check. My main concern was the audio and an earphone jack. So now I have a phone with great audio and lousy upgrades. I can live with that. I posted the article in case there are others as ignorant as I was about the upgrades.

 

[Hadron]

If it's any consolation HTC have got worse since you left them (the U11+ is a similar age to my Pixel 2 and has never had an update). A shame as about 6 years ago they used to be good with updates, but have slipped in recent years and more or less given up now.

But let's face it, Samsung are the market leader and are also very slow with major updates (better with security patches). If you want rapid updates you want Google, an Android One vendor like Nokia, Essential (if they ever make another phone) or OnePlus (who used to have very short software support lifetimes, realised it would hurt them and bucked their ideas up - of course being part of a mega corporation means they have more resources than a small company like they pretend to be would have). I don't know what Moto or Sony are like these days.

 

[markdoc]

I mean why do you need Pie @markdoc?

I don't need it, especially since I've heard it isn't that big an improvement. Actually, I don't want to be the first. I'd rather get upgrades a little later so I have time to find work arounds for problems. I don't like to be last because most times there are some benefits in the new OS that I can use.

 

[markdoc]

If it's any consolation HTC have got worse since you left them (the U11+ is a similar age to my Pixel 2 and has never had an update). A shame as about 6 years ago they used to be good with updates, but have slipped in recent years and more or less given up now.

But let's face it, Samsung are the market leader and are also very slow with major updates (better with security patches). If you want rapid updates you want Google, an Android One vendor like Nokia, Essential (if they ever make another phone) or OnePlus (who used to have very short software support lifetimes, realised it would hurt them and bucked their ideas up - of course being part of a mega corporation means they have more resources than a small company like they pretend to be would have). I don't know what Moto or Sony are like these days.

I followed HTC until I purchased the V40. IMO, they had started going downhill over a year ago with a lot more than their upgrades. No matter what they currently offer, I wouldn't buy another phone of theirs. I originally posted the article for people like me who weren't aware of LG's upgrade history. My feelings are I don't want to be first, but I don't want to be last either. If I had my choice, I'd like to get upgrades about 2 or 3 months after they're out. That way I can get the benefits and there is time for some problems to be fixed. Obviously, that isn't reality so I take what I get and live with it. It isn't that big of deal.

 

[Hadron]

The thing is, apart from feature changes (which even then the manufacturer may or may not include) problems with an update are likely to be device-specific. So manufacturer X releasing an update 3 months after Google doesn't mean that what they release will be problem-free.

I'm currently watching the Android 10 betas. This one doesn't quite sound ready for use as my daily driver yet, and I'm going to be on call in a couple of weeks so don't want to take chances just now, but may well give the next beta a spin in about a month's time if reports sound promising. If reverting didn't reset the device I'd have done it already, but don't really want the hassle of a full backup and restore (never bothered me in my ROM flashing days, but Titanium just does a better job than any of the solutions available without root).

 

[markdoc]

In my younger days I was more like you. Trying early releases and enjoying tackling the rough spots. Unfortunately, in my 60s, I'm not as sharp as I used to be. I don't mind little issues, but major problems cause me too much aggravation.
@Hadron, BTW you mentioned "on call". Is that medical or technical?

 

[PitCarver]

I mean why do you need Pie

Personally, I'm happy with what I've got. It appears to be the last version that will retain things that I'm familiar with. While the new gesture navigation button may appeal to some, I'm too stubborn to be forced to learn all the swipe gestures. As long as I've used Nova, which has been a good while, trying to remember what went with each gesture never caught on with me.

I didn't get mine, or any of my other phones, to make sure I had the latest and greatest.

 

[Hadron]

@Hadron, BTW you mentioned "on call". Is that medical or technical?

Academic: I'm going to be away when the exams I set are happening, so need to be available by phone if there are problems.

I have done technical on call (when one of our experiments is running it run 24 hours a day for months at a time), but there's none of that going on at the moment.

 

[markdoc]

@Hadron I was curious since I've done medical when I was younger. Good luck on your exams.

 

[markdoc]

Personally, I'm happy with what I've got. It appears to be the last version that will retain things that I'm familiar with. While the new gesture navigation button may appeal to some, I'm too stubborn to be forced to learn all the swipe gestures. As long as I've used Nova, which has been a good while, trying to remember what went with each gesture never caught on with me.

I didn't get mine, or any of my other phones, to make sure I had the latest and greatest.

I'm intrigued by the blood vessel sensing technology and the screen being the fingerprint sensor and speaker. I agree with you on the swiping technology. One of my apps already has that but I never use it. I'm still partial to real buttons instead of virtual but that I got use to fairly quickly. At least on the V40, I can always see the buttons. On my HTC 10, in darker rooms the buttons got so dim that I couldn't see them. I do, however, prefer the latest & greatest chip set. I like the speed it brings. The newer the chip set along with the latest Android version are the best hedge against obsolescence. I have my old phones and after awhile, they can't run the updated apps.

 

[PitCarver]

Lots of things intrigue me, Mark, but I'm getting to the point, in life where things I'm buying have the potential to outlive me.
I say this as I'm waiting for the mail to deliver a 230 million year old piece of petrified wood.

 

[markdoc]

Lots of things intrigue me, Mark, but I'm getting to the point, in life where things I'm buying have the potential to outlive me.
I say this as I'm waiting for the mail to deliver a 230 million year old piece of petrified wood.

View attachment 141305

Believe me, I understand. I'm in the same stage but I try to think young. (Because that's all I can do is think) My body gave out 20 years ago.(chronic pain) The only thing that I have that's petrified is me! Lol I walk a fine line trying to keep my brain sharp and forcing it to crash. (The older I get, the more it crashes and the reset button no longer works) Keep young OLD friend!

 

[PitCarver]

Well, another discouraging article popped up on me, this morning...

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/lg-smartphone-problem,news-29906.html

Suggesting that LG stop making phones?
Ok, I'm not the best judge, here, but I personally love mine. It's my first LG, so I have no others to compare it to. One thing I can say though is I haven't seen that many actual "problems" being posted, here, or on other forums.

 

[markdoc]

I agree with PitCarver. That was scathing article. This also is my first LG Smartphone. (I used their flip phones in the old days) I like my phone too. In fact, I cannot find anything to really complain about. The few issues that bother me have been corrected by after market apps except for the time it takes to charge the phone. My HTC phone had a 3000 mAh battery and it charged in about 1 hour. Our LG V40 has a 3300 mAh battery and it takes about 1½ to charge. That seems long in comparison to my HTC. But I read that our phone is compatible with the Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 protocol which should speed up charging time considerably. Now I just have to find a QC 4 charger. Agreeing again with PitCarver, the other phone forums I've belonged to had tons of participating members. Here, we only have a small group. I hope LG doesn't read the article.

 

[tube517]

I like LG alot and I hope they stick around and give alternatives to Samsung (and the fruit). The only issues that has plagued LG are the bootloop issues and slow updates. I didn't buy any of the phones when the bootloop issues occured and slow updates don't bother me (except the 2 year wait for the LGV20 to go from Nougat to Oreo was bad)

THey really did well w/the V40. I love this phone.

Bloggers got nothing else to write about.