ROMA – Attacked by Chinese smartphone manufacturers, weighed down by debts in this specific sector, the South Korean company LG leaves mobile telephony. Its disengagement – formalized today by a decision of the Board of Directors – will be completed by 31 July 2021.
Some LG models will remain on sale beyond July. And LG will guarantee assistance in case of failure and software updates for a variable period, depending on geographic areas.
LG – among the pioneers in the launch of the Android system – has long been ranked among the top 10 smartphone manufacturers in the world. But a merciless Counterpoint report recalls that it managed to have a market share of more than 3% in the world, for the last time in 2018.
For 23 consecutive quarters, therefore from 2015, the division LG smartphone has blamed a red, for a total loss estimated at 3.8 billion euros, at the end of last year.
The division “failed to deliver results” in a context of “increased price competition between various competitors in the entry-level smartphone market,” the company explained in a statement.
LG Wing, the first smartphone with the screen that opens in the shape of a T
by Ernesto Assante
And even the innovative LG Wing – the dual-screen smartphone that opens to form a T – failed to revive the division’s fortunes, thanks to a prohibitive launch price of over a thousand euros.
LG will now focus on more profitable industries such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart home, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business (B2B) communications solutions.
It will also continue to experiment with 5G and 6G technologies, even if it will no longer produce mobile phones where to install them.
In South Korea, LG Electonics shares lost 2.52% despite the Seoul Stock Exchange’s index showing a slight increase (+ 0.26%).
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