LG shipped 6.5 million smartphones in Q3 2020, down 7.2 million compared to the same quarter a year earlier. With the group losing about $4.5 billion across the last five years and holding just a two percent global market share, CEO Kwon Bong-seok has advised staff in an internal memo that big changes are coming, according to The Korean Herald.
“Since the competition in the global market for mobile devices is getting fiercer, it is about time for LG to make a cold judgment and the best choice,” an LG official told the publication. “The company is considering all possible measures, including sale, withdrawal and downsizing of the smartphone business.”
This new internal memo follows a now-deleted report from Korean outlet TheElec earlier this month that claimed LG was planning to exit the smartphone business. LG branded that report “completely false and without merit,” in a statement to Android Police just a week ago.
LG has previously promised “wow factors” to try and attract consumers and make its flagging mobile division profitable. LG has tried multiple times with the G7, the V40, the G8, and the V50 to compete with Samsung and Huawei, but it’s not been enough to push its market share in the right direction. LG’s latest Velvet and Wing smartphones have attempted to try something new, but neither were well received.
Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Apple all continue to dominate worldwide smartphone shipments, according to IDC. LG is now turning its focus to its Rollable phone, in an effort to differentiate it from the competition. LG teased the Rollable device again at the Consumer Electronics Show last week, with a “unique resizable screen” that extends from a phone to become a small tablet display.
LG has promised its Rollable device is real and will launch in 2021, but with the company reconsidering its mobile plans it could be one of the last LG phones.
