After rumours swirled LG was set to exit the smartphone business, the South Korean company confirmed the news in a statement on Monday, local time.
LG says the decision to exit the smartphone business was “approved by its board of directors earlier today.”
The company says the move is a “strategic decision”, citing an “incredibly competitive mobile phone sector.” LG says it will concentrate its efforts in “growth areas”, mentioning electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions and platforms and services.
LG says it will continue to sell out existing inventory of smartphones and service support and software upgrades will be available, “for a period of time” depending on the region.
The company says the closure of its smartphone business worldwide is set to be completed by July 31, 2021.
According to Reuters, LG tried to sell its mobile business unit to Vietnam’s Vingroup, but the sale failed to succeed, due to terms of the deal, say anonymous sources.
The smartphone industry is cutthroat and it’s hard to compete against giants Apple and Samsung, let alone smartphones from Chinese companies Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi.
In Canada, Rogers, Telus and Bell carry numerous smartphones from LG, including 5G-capable models such as the Velvet 5G.
