LG stops making smartphones

LG confirms to stop producing smartphones. The company will continue to provide support and software updates to current phones for the time being. LG does not leave the smartphone world completely and says, for example, that it wants to develop 6G techniques.

The company’s smartphones will remain for sale while supplies last, the South Korean company writes. It is not clear how long it will provide phones with physical support and updates; the company says this will vary by region. It is also not clear whether it will only give smartphones security updates, or also Android upgrades.

LG expects to have completed the closure of the smartphone branch by July 31. It is expected that ‘some models’ will still be for sale. It is not known how many people will have to be fired as a result of the closure. The company will continue to develop ‘mobility-related technologies such as 6G’.

CEO Kwon Bong-Seok told LG staff earlier this year that the company was considering closing its smartphone business. The division has been making a loss for years, in 2020 it was about $751 million. LG says it will be able to focus on growth markets such as EV components, connected devices, smarthomes, robotics and artificial intelligence by leaving the “incredibly competitive smartphone market”.

The LG Rollable, which will no longer appear this year