Last Goodbye: LG confirms its exit into the smartphone business


LG confirmed today, 5 April 2021, that they will be shutting down their mobile operations and employees who formerly work there will be transferred to other divisions instead.

As you may have known, LG attempted to sell its mobile division, but negotiations failed. Prior to this, LG shutting down the mobile business were just rumours, in fact, LG had a lot of exciting plans in mind, including the rollable phone which was planned to be unveiled in CES 2021.

However, the rollable phone will not see the light of day, as an article from DongA, a Korean news firm, said that LG has shelved their plans in the smartphone space this year.

“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.” LG said in their statement.

While the process is ongoing, LG said that they will remain to provide service and software updates, depending on the region. LG said that this closure would help them develop more important technology for mobile phones, such as 6G.

The closure is expected to be completed by the end of July, although there may still be phones in their inventory that may remain unsold after said date.

In the Philippines, LG exited the market early 2019, despite them denying these claims.

Source: LG Newsroom, DongA (in Korean), YugaTech