First phone filled with Nougat likely to come from LG

LG will show off its first Android 7.0 Nougat phone in another month.

LG Electronics

LG will reveal in September what could be the first phone to sport the new Android 7.0 operating system known as Nougat.

In a blog post dubbed "Play More," the company revealed that it will unveil its V20 phone on September 6 in San Francisco. The blog post's tagline of "The second story begins" could refer to the V20 being the follow-up to LG's V10 phone, which rolled out last October, or to the G5, which launched this past April.

LG faces the same challenges that impede other smartphone players, including HTC, Motorola and Sony. Apple and Samsung so dominate the mobile market that little more than scraps are left over for other manufacturers. LG has tried to distinguish itself from the competition with such features as a modular capability for the G5 and "Friends," a lineup of devices that work with the G5, such as a 360-degree camera, a streaming LTE action camera and a rolling robot.

One selling point for the V20: It may be the first phone out of the gate with the new Nougat flavor of Android. Typically, Google is first in line with a new Android version on its Nexus devices. But so far, LG is the only phone maker to confirm when its first Nougat phone will appear.

Just a few tidbits are known about the V20 at this point. On Monday, LG said the V20 will take advantage of certain features of Android 7.0, which could launch as soon as Friday. Those features include the Doze battery saver, support for better gaming graphics and Direct Reply to help users more speedily reply to text messages and update certain tasks directly through the notification panel.

The "Play More" slogan could also be a sign that LG will continue with its "Friends" theme by offering devices that play directly with the V20. The company did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.

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