A lot has changed about how we use cell phones in the past two decades, but so have the companies who make them. And while some industry veterans have been able to innovate and stay relevant, others have thrown in the towel over the years. Now, another venerable brand is calling it quits: LG has announced that they will stop making mobile phones in the coming months, according to a statement from the company. Read on to see why the tech giant is hanging up on the devices, and for more important smartphone updates, check out Apple Just Released This Warning About the Latest iPhones.
LG said it would be shutting down its mobile phone division.
ShutterstockIn an April 5 press release, South Korean tech company LG announced its decision to "exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector" and close the division worldwide. The company says that the move, which comes after a failed attempt to sell the phone business, is a "strategic decision" that will allow it to instead "focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence, and business-to-business solutions."
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The wind-down will be finished by the end of July.
ShutterstockFans of the brand still have a chance to score their last device from the company. LG announced that its current phone inventory would continue to be available for sale, as will service support and software updates for existing customers. However, the division is slated to be fully wound down by July 31, 2021.
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The company has seen its once sizable share of the mobile phone market shrink over the past decade.
ShutterstockWhile LG now blames intense competition for its decision to bow out of the phone market, it wasn't so long ago that it was a major player. According to Strategy Analytics, the company was within the top three of the world's smartphone makers as recently as 2013, CNN reports.
But despite still being the third most popular brand in North America, it was no longer even in the top seven worldwide as of 2020, having dropped to just two percent of the global market share at the hands of surging Chinese competitors Oppo and Xiaomi, Counterpoint Research told CNN Business.
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LG will still use its know-how to develop other mobile-related products.
ShutterstockLG's decision to shutter its mobile division didn't go unnoticed, with fans of the once pioneering phones showing appreciation for the gadgets on social media. But the brand, which still generated headlines as recently as three months ago when it unveiled a new rollable phone that could be turned into a tablet, announced that it wouldn't be completely leaving mobile behind.
"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," a company spokesperson said.
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