LG could very soon announce its exit from the smartphone market, now that it has not found a buyer for this division within the company. After 23 quarters in losses, the company seems to have made the decision to stop the bleeding of funds in this area. However, it seems that the decision could have serious effects, especially on customers who have bought its products in the last few years, as they may be left without software updates of any kind in the near future.
LG could leave the mobile market immediately, without providing software support for the already launched models
According to a Twitter leaker, “@FrontTron”, LG is preparing to make the official announcement regarding the exit from the smartphone market on Monday, April 5th. It appears that the entire division will be disbanded, while its employees will be relocated to LG’s home appliance division in Changwon, South Korea.
Thus, all the plans that the smartphone division had for the next period, such as launches of mid-range or premium smartphones for the first half of 2021 have already been stopped. Of course, the development of the LG Rollable phone with a running screen will not continue, despite previous statements by the company.
Worryingly, FrontTron says that despite LG promising software support for its latest devices, such as LG Velvet and LG Wing, Android software development will stop immediately after the official announcement. Thus, all phones that were still in the software support period of one, two or three years for system or security updates will no longer receive new updates.
This is not the first time that a traditional manufacturer in the smartphone market leaves the field, so such decisions are to be expected. However, LG customers who bought these models may be reluctant to buy the company’s products in other segments that are software-dependent, such as smart TVs.
