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Google confirms LG V20 first to run Nougat, not the next-gen Nexus
July 17, 2025
For the past few years, each new major Android release has coincided with the launch of a new Nexus (or pair of Nexus) smartphones to celebrate said launch but this year, Google is taking a different tack. The search giant just launched theofficial Android Nougat webpage, and with it bought confirmation of what we already expected:the LG V20 will be the first smartphone to launch with Android Nougat out-of-the-box.
LG’s next flagship is set to be announced just after IFAat an event in San Francisco on September 6and like we exclusively revealed a few weeks ago, it’s set to follow the modular design of its G-series sibling,the LG G5, complete wit thesecond-screen feature of the LG V10. The move to decouple the Nexus smartphone range from the release of a new Android OS also poses an interesting question for Google’s own smartphone strategy.
The Nougat update is expected to roll out toexisting Nexus devices– such as theNexus 6P,Nexus 5XandGoogle Pixel C– today, but there have been very few leaks of either of the two new Nexus devices suggesting we’re at least several weeks away from a possible launch.
What will the new Nexuses have to offer is the real question, and this remains unclear; with the possible advantage of having the latest Android OS no longer a factor, could Google opt to develop an experience that’s more than just stock Android and exclusive to the Nexus range? Or will both smartphones have to compete on their hardware merits alone? Let us know your views in the comments below, stay tuned for a video overview and in-depth look and check out the links below for more on Android Nougat:
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