LG Electronics will stop making smartphones on July 31, after talks with a potential buyer fell through, reports Reuters. LG compiled roughly $4.5 billion in losses over six years. Winding down its mobile division is a move set to make it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market, according to the account.
The South Korean vendor was the third-largest handset supplier in the North American market, where its products made up 10 percent of smartphone sales, and had a two percent market share globally. Samsung and Apple were expected to overtake LG’s sales, according to Ko Eui-young, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities.
“In the United States, LG has targeted mid-priced – if not ultra-low – models and that means Samsung, which has more mid-priced product lines than Apple, will be better able to attract LG users,” Ko Eui-young told Reuters.
In South Korea, the mobile division’s employees will be moved to other LG Electronics businesses and affiliates, while elsewhere, decisions on employment will be made at the local level.
Analysts said they were told in a conference call that LG plans to retain its 4G and 5G core technology patents as well as core R&D personnel, and will continue to develop communication technologies for 6G. The analysts said still to be decided is whether to license out such intellectual property in the future.
LG will provide service support and software updates for customers of existing mobile products for a period of time that will vary by region, it added.
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