LG’s Optimus G launched late last year and quickly qualified as one of the most well-made smartphones of the year, with a gorgeous design and fantastic build quality. But it was encumbered by a relatively old operating system, Android 4.0.4, just as Google was readying to launch Android 4.2, a very optimized version of the groundwork it lay in late 2011.
Indeed, that Android 4.0 is 15 months old is not news; that LG wants to prevent the name thing from happening again certainly is. See, the up-and-coming mobile division was rumoured to launch the Optimus G2 at CES this year (which was, of course, complete bunk), but it stands to reason that it will wait until Android 5.0, tentatively referred to as Key Lime Pie, to perform some sequel magic. This means that the device won’t launch until the fall, which would put a year between its flagships, a tactic many companies are adopting as they mean to streamline manufacturing and marketing operations.
In the meantime, LG is scheduled to launch a stop-gap device, perhaps a larger phablet, of roughly 5.5-inches sometime in Q2, with an announcement coming as soon as Mobile World Congress at the end of February. This device, rumoured to be called the Optimus GK, will utilize the 5.5-inch 1080p screen created by LG Display, which was being shown off in a number of devices at CES this year. LG’s Optimus G sequel will likely be 5-inches, with a next-generation Qualcomm chip and a more streamlined body.
Of course, none of this may be true — launch plans are always very much in flux — but sources close to CNET say these plans are pretty credible.
Source: CNET
