For those who following the space, LG will be fondly remembered as a smartphone pioneer. For a decade and a half, the company has been a major player in the Android category and a driving force behind a number of innovations that have since become standard.
Perhaps the most important story is that of the LG Prada. The device was announced a month before the first iPhone and has helped the form factor for the touch screen since then define virtually every smartphone. At the time, the company openly accused Apple of ripping off the design, noting: ‘We believe Apple is copying the Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented at the iF Design Award and the award in September. Won 2006. ‘
In July, the company will not sell more phones than what is left of its existing inventory.
LG has continued envelopes – albeit mixed. In the end, however, the company could not keep up. The South Korean electronics giant announced this week that it will step out of the “incredibly competitive” category and would rather focus on its many other departments.
The news is surprising after rumors over months that the company was actively looking for a buyer for the smartphone unit. Eventually it turned out that there was no one. In July, the company will not sell more phones than what is left of its existing inventory.
The category of smartphones is indeed competitive. And to be honest, LG’s numbers have fallen fairly consistently in the “Other” category of global smartphone market share numbers, including names like Samsung, Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi. The other names grouped among the top five were mostly other Chinese manufacturers such as Vivo.