South Korean publication The election did not report too long ago that LG was going to leave the smartphone industry. The publication claims that LG will announce the decision by the end of the month. It was also said that except for the LG Rollable, all development would be halted.
Android Police reached out to the South Korean company’s global consumer technology communicator, Ken Hong, to find out if there was anything in the rumor. Here’s what Ken had to say:
Completely false and without merit. I will not even justify that rumor with a statement.
The Elec report has been removed from the site.
That means LG’s smartphone unit is still alive, though it’s not exactly kicking.
In December, Reuters reported that LG has reorganized its smartphone wing to focus internal research and production on premium devices, and outsource the design and manufacture of low and mid-range phones to original manufacturers (ODM). This could help the mobile communications business, which has brought 22 consecutive loss-making quarters, reduced costs and been able to compete better with Chinese companies.
The LG Rollable is apparently delayed
The Rollable smartphone, which was expected at CES 2021, would be expected earlier in March. The phone has a screen that extends upwards to create a larger screen.
Remember that the device was only shown on video and that the company did not bring an actual prototype to the stock market.
Naver seems to know why. Per site, there are issues with the performance and driver of the LG Rollable, and the current implementation could pose sustainability issues. There are also internal differences of opinion between the executive about the device.
As a result, the launch was presumably postponed until September.
According to one leak, the device will be terribly expensive and it makes us wonder if the Rollable will be more of a niche product. It does not sound like the brightest idea for a company that needs to increase its shipping volume to stay in business.
We will have to wait and see if CEO Kwon Bong-seok will be able to live up to his promise of last year to make the mobile business profitable by 2021.
The mobile business of LG Electronics will be profitable by 2021. I can say that we can make this happen as LG Electronics will expand our mobile product range and gradually release new products that contain some wow factors to help consumers.
