LG exiting Smartphone business

[snowc]

It sounds like the end is at hand for LG's smartphone business.

Since January, rumors have suggested LG might give up on its phone business after years of losses. We may have reached the point where rumor becomes reality, as a report out of South Korea claims the company will announce that it's shuttering its phone business this coming Monday (April 5).

The best Android phones still out there
Forget the LG Rollable – here are the Galaxy Z Fold 3 rumors
Plus: LG Rollable OLED TV is priced so high, you'll think it's a joke
The report from the Korea Times cites industry sources that claim "LG has considered various options such as a sale, split sales or pulling out of the smartphone business, but decided recently to pull out of the business." LG declined comment on the Korea Times report.

Still, the writing has been on the wall for LG's phones for some time. Last month, the phone maker reported suspended development on the successor the LG V60. Rumors have also swirled around the LG Rollable, a phone with an expanding screen that made a splash at CES earlier this year. While LG said at the time that the rollable phone was coming this year, subsequent reports suggested that the LG Rollable had been cancelled, too.

Looks like my phones are going kaput! See ya later, LG!
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/lg-phone-business-is-doa-with-announcement-likely-on-monday

[jeffandnicole]

When the LG v10 came out, I bought it sight unseen for my wife and I.  I knew they would be large phones, but they were too large.  They were tough to put in pockets.  Accessories such as VR headsets wouldn't fit them.  Places in cars for cell phones were too small.  LG also never updated the software with certain technologies, such as the camera being used for QR scanning.

LG had a lot going for it, but always played 2nd fiddle to Samsung, and they never were able to gain significant market share.

[kevinb1994]

I'm actually more partial to Samsung on the fact that they made my first Verizon Wireless phone (and, when we moved to our current house, our first French-door refrigerator). Before that, though, it was actually a pre-paid Motorola phone (I have gone back to Motorola for smartphones, but not Samsung).

The good news is, however, my family still being loyal with LG washers and dryers.

[stormwatch7721]

I'm going to miss it. I never had a problem with LG phones. I recently brought their K31 phone back in October 2020.

[kenarmy]

good.

[kalvado]

Problem is with shrinking competition. Soon there will be four or five cell phone makers worldwide, two. Or 3 in US. How would it affect prices? Some companies already learnt that low supply plus high margin means higher profits.

[Mr. Matté]

Looks like my phones are going kaput!

Mine (Nexus 5X) went back in February 2018.

[LM117]

Good riddance. We've had nothing but trouble with their phones. While they're at it, they need to stop making Blu-ray players, since they have no clue how to make a player that can actually read a disc.

Their TV's are great, though.

[SectorZ]

My 2nd and 3rd smartphones were LG

LG G3, great for 6 months until one of the Android OS full updates, and it never worked too well after.
LG G5, great for 10 months then went into a bootloop at random. Got a new one under warranty.

If that's the average experience, I fully understand why we're here.

[jemacedo9]

Problem is with shrinking competition. Soon there will be four or five cell phone makers worldwide, two. Or 3 in US. How would it affect prices? Some companies already learnt that low supply plus high margin means higher profits.

This was my first thought...and prices get lost in payment plans, so it would be easy to hike a phone price by $100 without adding any functionality to it.

[Duke87]

I had an LG G4 that I got in November 2017 and while it had some glitchy issues basically from the getgo that only grew in severity as time wore on, it took until right before Christmas 2020 before it finally died. It thus lasted me longer than any other smartphone has.

It should be noted for context that my method of procuring phones is to wait until the one I currently have dies, then walk into the Verizon store and say "what's the cheapest Android phone you've got in stock". So I never decided I wanted an LG phone, I just ended up with one.

[Bruce]

I'm still with my LG G7 and it hasn't shown much in the way of problems, though the camera quality has deteriorated for some odd reason.

LG was the last big manufacturer to bother including an audio jack in their flagships, so there goes another option. The Apple/Samsung duopoly screws over everyone.

[snowc]

I'm still with my LG G7 and it hasn't shown much in the way of problems, though the camera quality has deteriorated for some odd reason.

LG was the last big manufacturer to bother including an audio jack in their flagships, so there goes another option. The Apple/Samsung duopoly screws over everyone.

Noticed that too. Now we don't have any way to plug in our headphones! 

[SectorZ]

I'm still with my LG G7 and it hasn't shown much in the way of problems, though the camera quality has deteriorated for some odd reason.

LG was the last big manufacturer to bother including an audio jack in their flagships, so there goes another option. The Apple/Samsung duopoly screws over everyone.

Wait til that duopoly nixes charging ports and there goes your Apple Carplay/Android Auto in your car. Along with being able to self-diagnose/fix issues, sync an iphone reliably with a computer, etc...

[snowc]

I'm still with my LG G7 and it hasn't shown much in the way of problems, though the camera quality has deteriorated for some odd reason.

LG was the last big manufacturer to bother including an audio jack in their flagships, so there goes another option. The Apple/Samsung duopoly screws over everyone.

Wait til that duopoly nixes charging ports and there goes your Apple Carplay/Android Auto in your car. Along with being able to self-diagnose/fix issues, sync an iphone reliably with a computer, etc...

And there goes my ability to root. 

[Duke87]

LG was the last big manufacturer to bother including an audio jack in their flagships, so there goes another option. The Apple/Samsung duopoly screws over everyone.

?

My new Samsung A10, just purchased in December, has a headphone jack.

[snowc]

LG was the last big manufacturer to bother including an audio jack in their flagships, so there goes another option. The Apple/Samsung duopoly screws over everyone.

?

My new Samsung A10, just purchased in December, has a headphone jack.

Oh really?!

[Pink Jazz]

I never owned an LG phone, but my mom once had an LG CU400 flip phone from AT&T. I went from Nokia, to BlackBerry, and now Samsung.

Our refrigerator, clothes dryer, desktop optical drive, and one of our desktop computer monitors are LG.

[mgk920]

BTW, isn't LG the corporate successor of the longtime radio and TV builder Zenith?

Mike

[Bruce]

LG was the last big manufacturer to bother including an audio jack in their flagships, so there goes another option. The Apple/Samsung duopoly screws over everyone.

?

My new Samsung A10, just purchased in December, has a headphone jack.

The A10 isn't a flagship, but is classified as a midrange phone due to its lower specs. For those of us who need a full-service flagship, having one less option is a huge blow.