Why LG Electronics is Closing Down its Mobile Phone Business

LG electronics had on Monday, April 5, announced its plan to exit the mobile phone market describing it as “incredibly competitive”.

The tech giant said it would wound down the smartphone division by July 31 after years of recording losses. Its existing models would, however, continue to sell after the official close down.

LG was one of the world’s top smartphone makers and even among the top three years back. But its popularity declined when Chinese brands flooded the global market. The likes of Xiaomi and Oppo, which are low-end products, are sweeping the world while Samsung and Apple are leaders in the high-end market.

In 2013, LG launched a revolutionary curved smartphone screen, making it one of the first to debut the technology for the mass market. And two years after, the company consolidated the feat with the high-end photo-taking capabilities of its LG G4, product experts touted might be the smartphone camera at the time.

According to a market research firm, Canalys, LG remains the third most popular smartphone vendor in the United States, after Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (SSNLF).

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Just last year, LG introduced the WING 5G. The 5G-enabled smartphone came with two screens, of which one could rotate up to 90 degrees, to let users toggle different apps at the same time and multitask more seamlessly.

It, therefore, comes as a surprise to experts and LG mobile users that the electronics giant is leaving the market for other players after pushing the envelope with its smartphones for two decades.

In a statement released by the company, it said the decision was necessary in order to focus on other emerging sectors.

The “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,” LG said.

However, LG added that it won’t vanish from the industry. “Moving forward, LG will continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies such as 6G,” the company said.