There have been multiple report reports about the future of the LG smartphone business, indicating that the company could exit the market. Well, it turns out to be true. LG Electronics has officially confirmed that the company is closing its mobile division.
In a public statement, the company has stated that it will no longer produce and sell new smartphones. The decision was approved by the company’s board of directors on Monday, citing the division’s long slump and stiff competition.
LG says that its existing units will continue to be available for sale and that service and software support will continue for a period of time depending on the region. The winding down of the mobile phone business is expected to be completed by July 31, 2021, but the inventory of existing devices may continue to be available.
Earlier, it was reported that companies like Google, Facebook, and Bin Group among others were in talks with LG to buy its smartphone division but talks never reach conclusion and the company decided to shut down the unit.
In January this year, the company said that it was “reviewing the direction of its mobile business with all possibilities open.” The company has been working on a rollable display smartphone and it remains to be seen what will happen to that.
LG’s mobile division has been continuously reporting losses since 2015. In 2020, the division registered a loss of around $751 million. After the exit from the smartphone business, the company will focus more on growth areas such as electric vehicle components and smart home devices.
