Back in 2014, Google announced the Android One program as part of the company’s initiative to expand into emerging markets in South and Southeast Asia. Android One offers users a taste of stock Android even if they can’t afford the latest Google flagship. It’s a great way to help keep Android users up-to-date as well, as most Android One devices have received updates fairly quickly (though I’m sure Xiaomi Mi A1 owners would disagree). The Motorola Moto X4 on Project Fi and the latest Nokia-branded smartphones like the Nokia 6.1 are among the few Android One devices available in the United States. It seems that LG’s first Android One device is coming exclusively for T-Mobile USA, giving customers in the US another option if they want stock Android.
Evidence for an unreleased Android One device from LG emerged from an unexpected location: kernel source code for another unreleased LG device. The LG Stylo 4 will reportedly be launching tomorrow on US MVNO MetroPCS. Almost everything about this device has already been leaked online—either by LG or MetroPCS themselves—so there’s not much worth to discuss. However, LG has taken the unusual step in releasing the kernel source code for the Stylo 4 in advance of the device’s announcement. Since the Stylo 4 will be LG’s first device launching with Android 8.1 Oreo, XDA Recognized Contributor deadman96385 decided to take a look through the kernel source code to see if there was anything interesting. Lo and behold, he found a model for a new LG Android One smartphone that is headed for T-Mobile. (Side-note: deadman96385 found the kernel source code by looking up the model number in hands-on videos published before the device’s launch.)
Digging through the device tree source code, deadman96385 first discovered evidence of the device by seeing a model called “cv5a” with the carrier “tmo”, country code “us”, and suffix “sprout.” The “tmo” and “us” tell us that the device is a T-Mobile USA device, while the “sprout” codename is used to signify an Android One device. Notably, the “sprout” codename isn’t present on the other regional models such as the one for NTT DoCoMo in Japan (dcm_jp), South Korea (lgu_kr, skt_kr, lgu_ldu), or the international variant (lao_com).
For good measure, here’s a list of every Android One device and their codename. I hope this list makes it easy to see why we believe this “sdm450-cv5a_tmo_us_sprout” device is an Android One device. I compiled this list based on Google’s public list of Certified Android devices.
Now, for the rumored specifications. We based this list of specifications off of files we discovered in the source code such as “sdm450-cv5a-panel.dtsi”, “sdm450-cv5a_tmo_us_sprout-pm.dtsi”, and others.
| Rumored Specifications | T-Mobile USA/LG Android One device |
|---|---|
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 (running in 32bit mode) |
| RAM | Unknown. ZRAM is enabled, so it’s likely 2-3GBs. |
| Camera | Sensors unknown. Rear camera flash. Possibly a camera button exists as there’s support for a 2 stage button in the code. |
| Storage | Unknown flash storage |
| Display | 5.5-inch FHD+ (1080×2160) 18:9 panel. (Specifically, this one.) |
| Audio | HiFi ES9218P audio DAC (used in the LG V30) |
| Battery | 3,000mAh with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support |
| Ports | USB Type-C port (TI TUSB422) |
| Connectivity | NFC (PN553) |
| Software | Android 8.1 Oreo (Android One) |
| Fingerprint | No. Other regional variants seem to have the FPC1028 though. |
| Miscellaneous | Vibration motor. Notification/Battery LED. FM Radio. Some form of waterproofing. |
| Price | Unknown |
| Availability | Unknown. Stylo 4 kernel was packaged on 3/14/18, so this device has been in development before then. |
If we learn more about this device, we’ll let you all know.