LG will no longer be making phones.
This follows an official announcement by the company distributed to the press.
The development is nothing for enthusiasts who have been following the manufacturer for years.
A few weeks or months ago, it was rumoured that there were plans to axe the mobile division altogether.
And as it turns out, the rumours were 100% true.
LG has been facing a hard time in the mobile space. For years, it has been under the shadow of Samsung that is one of the leading smartphone sellers in the world.
Besides it making poor choices, such as lackluster advertising and promotion of their phones, LG never shied away from releasing some exciting phones.
From the start of the last decade, LG experimented with the Flex line of phone, whose screens were bent for improved ergonomics during normal operations.
The LG G5 was another unique releases; it was ‘modular’ at a time when the majority of major releases were what you would call ‘boring.’
Its last crazy device the Wing was loved by many people, but the phone’s bulkiness and overall non-excitement from most people wasn’t enough to sway buyers.
It is sad to see LG drop out the smartphone race because it genuinely shaped the Android space when the platform was growing.
It is also the first known manufacturer that is exiting the mobile space. Others, such as HTC and SONY are in the same boat – all of them having enjoyed success at some point, but lost the baton to growing and more hungrier phone makers from China at some point.
In the Kenya space, LG phones stopped hitting local store shelves more than 7 years ago. Its last major phone that made its way here is the LG G3.
On the bright side of things, LG’s home entertainment department is its high-performing division, and it is likely all its efforts will be focused here.
Lastly, the company has said that after the July 31 exit date, some of its high-end devices will be updated to Android 12, and nothing more than that.
Anyway, here is the official statement from the company:
LG Electronics Inc. (LG) announced that it is closing its mobile business unit. The decision was approved by its board of directors earlier today.
LG’s strategic decision to exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector will enable the company to focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services.
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.
Moving forward, 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. Core technologies developed during the two decades of LG’s mobile business operations will also be retained and applied to existing and future products.
The wind-down of the mobile phone business is expected to be completed by July 31 although inventory of some existing models may still be available after that.
