LG officially closes down its global smartphone business

LG has officially confirmed that it is shutting down its global mobile business, with reports earlier this year predicting this after almost six consecutive years of losses amounting to nearly USD 5 billion (~RM20 billion). In an official statement on the global site, the South Korean electronics company said that the “difficult decision” was made with other businesses in mind; LG is also a major manufacturer of TVs, displays, and other electronics.

LG products that are already in stock at various retailers, resellers, and LG Stores will continue to be available while supplies last, while product limited warranties will be honoured by the company. Meanwhile, software and security updates for existing mobile devices—as well as replacement parts—will continue to be available.

“OS upgrades will be offered for selected models. The Android 11 OS upgrade is currently in progress for selected models, and the Android 12 OS upgrade will be rolled out based on the same criteria and process. However, please understand that OS upgrade plans are subject to change due to Google’s OS distribution schedule or other factors such as product performance and stability.”

To be clear, the closing down of LG’s mobile business means that smartphones and tablets will no longer be available (once existing stocks are sold). However, LG Tone Free and other wireless Bluetooth speakers are not under the mobile division, and will continue to be developed and sold.

“We want to THANK YOU for your loyalty and support of LG Mobile. We hope that you will embrace our other smart technologies, as LG continues to deliver a wide range of innovative products and services that make life better.”

With regards to employees under the company’s mobile division, leaked (unofficial) information earlier suggested that 60 percent of the headcount would be retained.

All in all, this new development will come as sad news to the rest of the mobile industry. LG Mobile has, of course, not been officially operating in Malaysia for some years now, with the most recent release being the LG V30+ launching here nearly three years ago in 2018. Plus, the LG Wing is possibly one of the coolest ideas we’ve seen in a long, long time—it’s a shame that the LG won’t be throwing those sort of ideas around the mobile space any more.

Still, the company’s Display division is still touting some wacky-looking TV ideas around, so we have that to look forward to, at least.

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