LG would rather stop fighting
LG hoped the Wing would differentiate the manufacturer from Samsung’s tariff
LG’s involvement in the mobile phone industry began before the rise of the smartphone. The company started with a series of browse phones and in 2005 it released the VX-9800 balaclava. Yours actually owned this phone, which had an external screen and an internal screen. When the clamshell opens, the phone has a QWERTY keyboard. When closed, the device looks like a camera. The following year, a hybrid MP3 player named LG Chocolate was introduced.
In December 2006, one month before the launch of the iPhone, LG announced the first touchscreen phone, the LG Prada. In November 2007, the LG Voyager was released. Yours had this phone with a resistant touch screen that was difficult to navigate. It was the first feature phone to scrap the WAP browser for an HTML one, and it included live TV, two screens, and a QWERTY keyboard. For Verizon customers who wanted an iPhone, it was the device they bought, even though it was not a smartphone. Remember that the iPhone was an exclusive AT&T series back then.
The LG Optimus series was a series of smartphones created by LG, which ran Windows Mobile or Android. Over time, the Optimus G series was replaced by the new LG G2 and the model was still LG’s flagship phone by the LG G8XThinQ. The latter offered an attachable second screen as an accessory. As LG continued to catch up with its fellow South Korean manufacturer Samsung, it tried to find something else to grab the attention of consumers. An example of this was last year’s LG Wing which came out of the box with a 6.8-inch screen that rotates 90 degrees to reveal a secondary screen of 3.9 inches.
The end of LG’s mobile phone business means that the company’s rollaway phone will be scratched. The company said in a statement that the LG Rollable is no longer part of its product strategy. Rumors about the device are spreading as recently as last month and a phone with the model number LM-R910N from LG has received the certification for the use of Bluetooth 5.2. The device would apparently (ahem) roll out with a 7.4-inch screen and a smaller screen on the back. The launch of the phone was reportedly delayed due to issues with the rollable mechanism and questions about the durability of the device.
LG expects to close its mobile phone business completely by July 31st, but supplies of some phones may remain available until now. The big question is who will end up with LG’s 10% of the smartphone market in North America. On the mainland, LG is third after Samsung and Apple. Since LG users are familiar with Android, we would not be surprised to see that Samsung grabs much of LG’s market share in the region. LG’s global share in the smartphone market is only 2%. The company delivered 23 million devices last year, compared to the 256 million that Samsung sent.
LG tried to sell its smartphone business to Vingroupo in Vietnam, but the two could not agree on the terms of an agreement.