LG Velvet 4G Finally Gets Its Android 11 Update

With LG's formal withdrawal from the smartphone market, there have naturally been questions about the company's ability to support the phones it already has out in the wild. Of course, LG promised that it would indeed continue to update at least some of its phones but that remained to be seen. As if to dispel those doubts, LG has finally launched the LG UX 10 with Android 11 update for the LTE-only version of the LG Velvet, almost half a year after the LG Velvet 5G received it.

The LG Velvet 4G was itself an oddity in the first place. Barely two months after the original LG Velvet was announced, the company launched a variant that used a non-5G Snapdragon 845 processor in exchange for a lower price point. However, this LTE-only model wasn't made available in many markets, and it still received its Android 11 update a lot later.

The LG Velvet 5G got the UX 10 update in South Korea early this year, followed by the US version in April. Now the LG Velvet 4G is also getting the same update in South Korea, months after its sibling. When it arrives in other markets where the same phone is sold is anyone's guess at this point.

As a major update, LG UX 10 with Android 11 brings many changes under the hood and user interface. Android 11 itself brings features like chat bubbles and notification history, but the update also adds LG's own features exclusive to the phone. Of note are the Quick View and Night Time Lapse features of the camera app and its ability to scan QR codes.

On the one hand, LG's track record doesn't exactly make this belated update all that surprising. But, on the other hand, it puts a shadow of doubt over its ability to continue supporting its current phones, especially now that it barely has anyone working on them anymore.