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It's official: LG exits smartphone business

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The rumours about this have been bubbling for months, and now it's finally official: LG, earlier today, announced its exit from the smartphone industry. In a press release, the company confirmed that it hopes to complete the exit formalities by July 31, 2021.

For most of our tech-savvy readers, LG's announcement did not come as a surprise. The writing was on the wall for the Korean company's smartphones division after it was on a loss-making spree for six years. According to a Reuters report, the losses totalled more than $4.5 billion.

The final straw was the company's inability to strike deal with potential buyers. LG was reportedly in talks with Vingroup, a Vietnamese company that was interested in taking over the mobile division. That, however, did not happen and the talks fell through leaving LG with no option but to exit the business completely.

NextPit LG Wing camera app
LG was known for experimenting with wacky form factors. This is the LG Wing / © NextPit

When LG's mobile phone division will cease to exist on July 31, 2021, it will be the end of a 19-year-old journey that began in 2002 with the launch of its mobile phone - the LG B1200.  

What is interesting is the fact that even today, LG is the third-largest smartphone vendor in the United States - behind Samsung and Apple with a market share of just around 10 per cent. However, LG has been decimated in other countries - especially in Asia where the relentless onslaught of highly competitive Chinese brands was too much to handle for LG. The fact that LG also had a very confusing product strategy did not help its cause either.

In case you happen to be own an LG smartphone and are wondering about future software updates and support, there is an FAQ page that attempts to answer your queries. The content on the FAQ page is slightly different for different markets. Here are the links to the FAQ pages for different countries

While you're here, why not also take part in our little poll?

Will you miss LG smartphones?
View results

 

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Stefan Möllenhoff

Stefan Möllenhoff
Head of Content Production

I have been writing about technology since 2004 with a strong passion for smartphones, photography, and IoT, especially in the world of smart homes and AI ever since they debuted. I'm also an avid cook and bake pizza at least three times a week using my Ooni Koda 16. In order to compensate for all the consumed calories, I indulge in sporting activities on a daily basis while strapping on at least two fitness trackers. I am strongly convinced that you can DIY a lot of things if you put your mind to it - including a photovoltaic system and power station.

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  • Simone Costi 21
    Simone Costi Apr 6, 2021 Link to comment

    Maybe it 's time to replace my LG V30...


  • 49
    storm Apr 6, 2021 Link to comment

    LG always seemed to overprice the product relative to performance and failed to support after the sale. That's not how to succeed.