LG’s smartphone business is not in great shape right now. The Company switched to an outsourcing model for its budget phones back in December and reports from soon thereafter the company plans to exit the smartphone business started making laps. We heard that earlier this year The Vietnamese Vingroup put an offer to buy the LG phone business on the tablebut it appears that the talks did not continue. According to a new report from the company’s home market LG has failed to solicit a buyer and is now considering stopping the bleeding phone business.
LG’s bleeding phone business could not find a buyer willing to pay a sufficiently high price
According to a report from Korea Dong-A Ilbo ((over Bloomberg). LG was in talks to sell its phone business – or a large part of it – to Vietnamese public company Vingroup and Volkswagen, but negotiations reportedly ended as the sale did not attract much attention. LG has reportedly put its Vietnam production plan and smartphone patents up for sale, but has not found a buyer at an acceptable price. Back in January, a senior LG employee mentioned that it was a company Exploring all possible options – selling, taking back and downsizing the smartphone business.
The ambitious LG Rollable could be the biggest victim of LG’s smartphone business exit.
LG reportedly has indefinitely suspended development of a new phone, code-named “Rainbow”, a device that was slated to replace the LG Velvet and expected to arrive in March itself. The company was reportedly in talks with carriers over the upcoming phone, but those plans are unlikely to materialize. LG’s premium phones are struggling to outperform competition from Chinese brands, and the dire state of software updates is also a major deterrent for potential buyers.
A LG Velvet successor code-named “Rainbow” has been discontinued for an indefinite period
A big victim of LG’s phone exit will be the highly anticipated LG rollable phone. Although the company has claimed that the aforementioned device will make it to market, several reports in the past few weeks have cast doubts about its possible launch. Now the latest also mentions that the chances of LG Rollable hit the shelves are slim and, despite the initial hype and hoopla, it may never get into customers’ hands.
View LG Velvet on Amazon
Nadeem Sarwar
I’ve been writing about consumer technology for over three years, having worked with names like NDTV and Beebom in the past. Leaving the latest news aside, I’ve checked out my fair share of devices that range from smartphones and laptops to smart home devices. I’ve also interviewed tech managers and appeared as a presenter on YouTube videos talking about the latest and greatest gadgets.
