Back in January, it was reported that LG is considering leaving the smartphone market, and now it's official, the company announced Monday morning in Seoul. Calling the smartphone sector "incredibly competitive", it's going to continue to sell existing inventory of its devices and then focus on its other businesses like EV components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, AI, and B2B solutions.
The firm also said that it's still going to be developing mobile technologies, such as 6G. That's all in an effort to strengthen itself in its other businesses.
While LG's smartphone business has struggled in recent years, it's responsible for a lot of innovative products. The LG G3 was the first phone with a QHD display, and it packed laser autofocus, which was crazy in 2014. Another thing that was crazy in 2014 was the G Flex, a handset that literally had a curved screen that could flex, making it harder to break. The G Flex 2 came around and it had a flagship processor and along with the screen being hard to break, there was a coating on the plastic back that would actually heal scratches.
The LG G5 wasn't tremendously popular or even praised by reviewers, but it did have a modular design and accessories. And let's not forget the LG V10, a phone that had a second, smaller display at the top for shortcuts, notifications, and more. Of course, unique features like that were lost in the V30 when LG started making taller phones.
All of this is coming to an end, and LG says that it's going to finish winding down its smartphone business by the end of July, although there still may be inventory being sold off after that.
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