LG to shut down its mobile division & exit the 'incredibly competitive' smartphone market

LG has officially confirmed that the company is pulling out of the smartphone business. The company wrote in its official statement that was made public earlier today, that the smartphone market is “incredibly competitive”. The wind down of the mobile phone business is expected to be completed by July 31st this year.

LG to shut down its LG mobile division

In the public statement, LG claimed that its strategic division has decided to exit the mobile phone sector. Moreover, this decision will enable the company to focus resources on growth areas such as electrical vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services. The statement further states, “Current LG phone inventory will continue to be available for sale. LG will provide service support and software updates for customers of existing mobile products for a period of time which will vary by region. LG will work collaboratively with suppliers and business partners throughout the closure of the mobile phone business. Details related to employment will be determined at the local level”.

It has also been revealed in the statement that LG will continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies such as 6G to help further strengthen competitiveness in other business areas. The statement also reads that core technologies developed during the two decades of LG’s mobile business operations will also be retained and applied to existing and future products. It has also been revealed in the public statement by LG that inventory of some existing models may still be available after July 31st, 2021 after the company’s mobile phone business shuts down.

A report in XDA Developers reveals that LG had been suffering losses for the past half a decade. Reportedly, LG’s mobile division has been continuously reporting losses since quarter 2 of the year 2015 and the division registered a loss of $ 751 million (55,07,08,30,000 INR). The media portal further stated that Google, Facebook, Volkswagen and Vietnam’s Bin Group were looking as potential buyers of LG’s smartphone division. However, the talks did not turn out fruitful, reports the media portal.

LG smartphones were innovative 

On another note, LG is a brand that has often been known for its innovation and courage in trying new things with its smartphones. LG was the first-ever brand and is still the only company that provides a Quad-DAC system in their phones, meaning the phone can play the highest levels of audio files and support even the most powerful headphones that cannot run on other smartphones.