The Verge: "LG considers exiting smartphones in 2021"

Dakhil · Jan 20, 2021

LG considers exiting smartphones in 2021

LG had been trying to make its smartphone business profitable

www.theverge.com

LG is considering exiting the smartphone market in 2021. After losing around $4.5 billion over the past five years, LG's smartphone business has been struggling to compete with rivals. Now LG CEO Kwon Bong-seok has notified employees that the company is considering making big changes to its smartphone business.

The Korea Herald reports that Kwon Bong-seok sent out an internal memo to staff on Wednesday, hinting at a change in direction for LG's phone business. "Since the competition in the global market for mobile devices is getting fiercer, it is about time for LG to make a cold judgment and the best choice," says an LG official in a statement to The Korea Herald. "The company is considering all possible measures, including sale, withdrawal and downsizing of the smartphone business."

LG confirmed the internal memo was genuine in a statement to The Verge, noting that nothing has been decided yet. "LG Electronics management is committed to making whatever decision is necessary to resolve its mobile business challenges in 2021," says an LG spokesperson. "As of today, nothing has been finalized."

This new internal memo follows a now-deleted report from Korean outlet TheElec earlier this month that claimed LG was planning to exit the smartphone business. LG branded that report "completely false and without merit," in a statement to Android Police just a week ago.

LG has previously promised "wow factors" to try and attract consumers and make its flagging mobile division profitable. LG has tried multiple times with the G7, the V40, the G8, and the V50 to compete with Samsung and Huawei, but it's not been enough to push its market share in the right direction. LG's latest Velvet and Wing smartphones have attempted to try something new, but neither were well received.

Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Apple all continue to dominate worldwide smartphone shipments, according to IDC. LG is now turning its focus to its Rollable phone, in an effort to differentiate it from the competition. LG teased the Rollable device again at the Consumer Electronics Show last week, with a "unique resizable screen" that extends from a phone to become a small tablet display.

LG has promised its Rollable device is real and will launch in 2021, but with the company reconsidering its mobile plans it could be one of the last LG phones we'll see.

Deleted member 9306 · Jan 20, 2021

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

I love LG Smartphones! They're the only brand that takes Smartphone Audio seriously, and their pricing is always reasonable. I can usually grab their new phones with most of the bells and whistles that are needed for around 500-700$ CDN (like my new LG Velvet!). Meanwhile Samsung and most of the other Android brands love charging laptop/desktop-esque prices (1000$+ unless I want to buy from a sketchy buyer).

I'll miss them. We need more affordable phone choices. Not everyone wants to/ can afford to drop 2k on a new cell phone.

ILikeFeet · Jan 20, 2021

one of my favorite phones was the LG G3. shame they might be bowing out, but it's really not surprising

Daria · Jan 20, 2021

It had 4% market share in Dec 2020 and the next closest was Samsung with 24%.

this is probably long overdue for them.

rip to the LG Chocolate though

SolidSnakeUS · Jan 20, 2021

Honestly, while not buying them, I think it would be pretty damn nice if Google had a Pixel off-shoot brand with LG being the hardware maker of them.

I know they did previously with the Nexus 5X, but still, they should.

Darth Pinche · Jan 20, 2021

That sucks. I love my LG G6 (and the G2 before it) These phones also lasted much longer than others I've tried.

cw_sasuke · Jan 20, 2021

Makes sense,.they are irrelevant and caught in the middle between Apple/Samsung and cheap/powerful chinese phones.

nsilvias · Jan 20, 2021

lgs bad reputation in the phone market finally caught up to them ey?

MidnightMania · Jan 20, 2021

Haven't owned a LG since the DARE.

dhlt25 · Jan 20, 2021

they never got over the boot loop stuff. After 2 G4 die on me, it will take a lot of convincing for me to go back to LG

MegaRockEXE · Jan 20, 2021

I read this and was disappointed. They're the only big name left not making numerous, terrible compromises chasing Apple. I had an LG G6, then got a G8 and I'm liking it still. Nobody else can match the features LG phones have.

captmcblack · Jan 20, 2021

I've had a few LGs (G2, V20, V30, G8), and I've loved them all. I'll be sad if they dip from the market - they were the last of the original Android OEMs still doing devices without compromise on features and ports. Maybe they get bought by someone else that can leverage what they do well and then bypass the bad stuff (buggy OS implementation, slow/poor updates, etc)?

Cruets · Jan 20, 2021

I had a V20 for the longest time.would be a shame to lose LG

Deleted member 1476 · Jan 20, 2021

Shame. I don't buy from them so I guess that's part of the reason, but losing another option besides Samsung and chinese phones is just bad. I don't plan on getting either of those so my android options are ever so limited here.

Altazor · Jan 20, 2021

Darth Pinche said:
That sucks. I love my LG G6 (and the G2 before it) These phones also lasted much longer than others I've tried.

funny, because I had a G3 and it's the phone that has lasted the least of all the ones I've had :P

Still, I liked it. It's a shame the audio started to have issues a year and a half after I got it, then after a week those issues appeared the audio was almost gone and then a week after that the phone refused to start. But before that happened (which really caught me by surprise) I enjoyed the phone a lot. Beautiful design too.

EDIT: And, as a counterpoint, their TVs have never given my family major issues. The only one that did was after, I dunno, 6 or 7 years of use.

SkimpyMcChicken · Jan 20, 2021

My LG G3 was trash and the support was poor.

But its still a shame, The LG Wing is such a dope idea, executed well.

Marvie · Jan 20, 2021

Every LG phone I've had has given me multiple problems. Can't say I'd ever buy another phone from them.

Remark · Jan 20, 2021

Probably because of the chinese brands going worldwide and eating up marketshare.

You hate to see it tho, LG had some good phones. If the boot loop shit never happened I would probably own an LG phone now tbh.

gerg · Jan 20, 2021

My only experience with an LG phone (except from a pre-smartphone device) was with the Nexus 5X, which I loved until it bootlooped on me. Thankfully I read about the issues and backed up my phone about a week before that happened!

Mr_F_Snowman · Jan 20, 2021

Darth Pinche said:
That sucks. I love my LG G6 (and the G2 before it) These phones also lasted much longer than others I've tried.

Both my previous LG phones got stuck in boot loops with no fix. LG's quality was trash for a long time and they had no interest in fixing these known issues because they move straight onto the next one.

Certainly ensured I'd not be buying their phones again so can't say I'm surprised the wider market has also shrugged them off

Avitus · Jan 20, 2021

LG enV was probably the best phone I''ve ever owned. Still miss that thing.

Haven't tried any of their smartphones but this is no surprise.

daveo42 · Jan 20, 2021

Their phones are garbage, so nothing lost.

Jonnax · Jan 20, 2021

Their velvet and rotating display phone seemed really innovative.

Pankratous · Jan 20, 2021

I honestly didn't know they still made phones. Do they sell them in the UK? I haven't seen an LG phone since flip phones.

King Fossil · Jan 20, 2021

Fine with me. Still love their TVs.

daveo42 · Jan 20, 2021

Marvie said:
Every LG phone I've had has given me multiple problems. Can't say I'd ever buy another phone from them.

The enV2 I owned died in 9 months. The G2 I had later ended up with a bad usb port after a little more of a year. My pixel 2xl? going on strong at three years with no issues other than needing a battery replacement.

LG had shit phones.

gerg · Jan 20, 2021

Megan Thee Fury said:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

I love LG Smartphones! They're the only brand that takes Smartphone Audio seriously, and their pricing is always reasonable. I can usually grab their new phones with most of the bells and whistles that are needed for around 500-700$ CDN (like my new LG Velvet!). Meanwhile Samsung and most of the other Android brands love charging laptop/desktop-esque prices (1000$+ unless I want to buy from a sketchy buyer).

I'll miss them. We need more affordable phone choices. Not everyone wants to/ can afford to drop 2k on a new cell phone.

The problem is that competition is fierce at the lower end of the market. Motorola seems to come out with a new variety of phone every month, Google has its own range of lower-priced Android phones (as does Samsung), and OnePlus is moving towards that market as well, as is Apple.

dots · Jan 20, 2021

LG still makes phones? I honestly thought they had already stopped.

Hydeus · Jan 20, 2021

Fuck I loved my G3, G4 and love my G7...

FPX · Jan 20, 2021

The biggest flaw of LG was their piss-poor update policies. They just needed to address that one thing to get enthusiasts and reviewers to recommend them to the mainstream. And yet, up until the end they refused, which is why enthusiasts and reviewers actively recommended mainstream audiences not to get LG flagships. I loved my v20 for a time, but swore to never get another LG phone as time went on but expected updates came a year after its peers.

Less competition is always terrible, and they are one of the few holdouts of the headphone jack. But if this comes to pass they only have themselves to blame.

Kwhit10 · Jan 20, 2021

Daria said:
It had 4% market share in Dec 2020 and the next closest was Samsung with 24%.

this is probably long overdue for them.

rip to the LG Chocolate though

I loved the chocolate, was my last phone before my first smart phone.

greengr · Jan 20, 2021

The Android low-mid budget segment is dominated by chinese manufacturers and in the high end Samsung reigns supreme,i am surprised LG-Sony-Google want to compete tbh

SwampBastard · Jan 20, 2021

The LG G2 is still the most impressed I've been with a new phone. The screen-to-size ratio at the time was amazing and it had a gorgeous display. I'd probably still buy their phones if they just loaded them with pure Android instead of skinning it.

TechnicPuppet · Jan 20, 2021

Samsung taking the top end and Chinese Brands taking everything else. Not much left.

Sharingan9092 · Jan 20, 2021

Marvie said:
Every LG phone I've had has given me multiple problems. Can't say I'd ever buy another phone from them.

This! Had a LG G2 and G6. The G2 died after 1 year of use and the G6 had shit battery life after the software update.

krae_man · Jan 20, 2021

Man I love LG phones. They are great phones and nobody buys them so if you wait like 3-6 months, you can get a flagship for peanuts.

Had a Nexus 4, G6 and currently rocking a G8.

R2RD · Jan 20, 2021

I hope we at least can get a v70 this year. LG is one of the few companies still putting the 3.5 mm jack in their phones. I bought the V50 just for the audio quality.

greengr · Jan 20, 2021

The Android market worldwide is so saturated right now.You can find in the 200-300 euro/dollar range chinese phones with 5g,amoled screens,6-8 gb ram,big batteries,upper-middle socs,decent cameras,again companies like lg,sony just cant compete.

Frankie Williamson · Jan 20, 2021

ILikeFeet said:
one of my favorite phones was the LG G3. shame they might be bowing out, but it's really not surprising

Man, I loved my G3, but the G5 was such a piece of shit.

TripleBee · Jan 20, 2021

Well, if they considering it - this leaking kinda forces their hand. As if it's known they don't have confidence to stay in the market, it would likely dissuade customers.

VariantX · Jan 20, 2021

Honestly, It makes a little sense since my last phone was an LG and it was for some reason hard as hell to find accessories for it while Apple and Samsung phone addons were everywhere.

Ikuu · Jan 20, 2021

G3 was such a good phone until they all started to die.

Razgriz417 · Jan 20, 2021

OP where's the link to the source?

SpaceCrystal · Jan 20, 2021

Now the only good Android phones besides the chinese branded phones are Sony's with the Xperia 1 series. Google is at the bottom of the barrel in terms of hardware, etc. while Samsung is chasing Apple on cutting off features.

So now, it's either the Xperia 1 III or the iPhone 13 Pro/iPhone 13 Pro Max for me.

MobileSuitReactor · Jan 20, 2021

My last LG phone was a v10

Biggersmaller · Jan 20, 2021

My last LG cell

Maxim726x · Jan 20, 2021

It's a rough industry. I have no idea why Sony is still in it, either.

It's gonna be like 3-4 players in a few years.

Inugami · Jan 20, 2021

Megan Thee Fury said:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

I love LG Smartphones! They're the only brand that takes Smartphone Audio seriously, and their pricing is always reasonable. I can usually grab their new phones with most of the bells and whistles that are needed for around 500-700$ CDN (like my new LG Velvet!). Meanwhile Samsung and most of the other Android brands love charging laptop/desktop-esque prices (1000$+ unless I want to buy from a sketchy buyer).

I'll miss them. We need more affordable phone choices. Not everyone wants to/ can afford to drop 2k on a new cell phone.

Essentially what I was going to post. The only problem I ever had was awful security update support... otherwise I loved my G7...

Geode · Jan 20, 2021

Well fuck. My LG V30 is still going strong, I was hoping to upgrade sometime next year. If LG is leaving, then I may switch to iPhone. I hate Samsung's phones and Pixel doesn't have the features I want. I stayed with LG mostly because of how close they were to stock Android.

Deleted member 10629 · Jan 20, 2021

The last LG phone I bought was a piece of shit so good riddance I guess?

The Verge: "LG considers exiting smartphones in 2021"

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