LG Android 10 Desktop Mode Might Be Heralding A Huge Change

It was rather odd that LG, who needs every bit of good publicity it can get, was so silent about the Desktop Mode feature it sneaked in with its UX 9.0 Android 10 update. After all, it's no small thing when you're offering a power user feature few aside from Samsung and Huawei have. It turns out, that silence might not have been unplanned and that this desktop mode might actually be intended for a new device that will bring about big changes in the company's mobile business.

Desktop Mode is admittedly something not many Android users will find very useful. At the very least it requires hooking up the phone to another device or peripherals to make use of Android in a non-mobile setting. Depending on the implementation, it can be almost flawless like Samsung DeX or extremely crude and painful that only developers will dare use it.

LG may be planning something bigger, according to Android Police chief David Ruddock. His sources hint that the LG V70, which isn't due until 2021, is going to be bundled with a large display to take advantage of that Desktop Mode. He isn't sure whether it would simply be a portable monitor or if LG is eying something like the ASUS PadFone Infinity pictured above.

But that may just be the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The journalist also got word that LG is changing its product line and release schedules, launching a V series phone in the first half of the year close to Samsung's Galaxy S series. Unfortunately, it seems that the company will also be retiring the G brand but will be replacing it with a new series to launch every Fall.

These rumors could inspire hope that LG is truly shaking things up in order to stop its continuous bleeding. That said, it has made such promises of change before and it still failed. We will have to wait next year if LG's new strategy will really save its mobile business, presuming it survives until then.