JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

LG Electronics fans bemoan end of era as firm exits smartphone business

LG Electronics fans bemoan end of era as firm exits smartphone business

Tuesday, April 06, 2021, 16:24 GMT+7
LG Electronics fans bemoan end of era as firm exits smartphone business
LG Electronics' Wing smartphone is displayed at a store in Seoul, South Korea, April 5, 2021. Photo: Reuters

SEOUL -- Fans of LG Electronics smartphones rued the loss of more affordable Android-based devices after the South Korean tech company said on Monday it would quit the business, with some praising LG for the innovation it brought to the industry.

LG smartphone users in South Korea and the United States posted nostalgic tributes on social media after the firm announced the exit, citing a prolonged sales slump.

LG still holds a roughly 10% share of the U.S. smartphone market, according to researcher Counterpoint, though its slice of the global pie is just 2%.

"Please release the Rollable phone before you die," said one user on a 300,000 member-strong forum on Naver, South Korea's largest online search portal, referring to LG's latest expandable display here concept that the company flaunted at the CES trade show in January.

Fans fondly noted some of the company’s more unique designs, such as a T-shaped dual screen, as well as features including a double-tap to turn a screen on and off.

“LG has some of the best audio hardware of any phone,” Kim Dong-woon, who has used six LG smartphones, told Reuters. “It’s a shame that LG is withdrawing.”

Mock old version LG Electronics' smartphones are displayed at a store in Seoul, South Korea, April 5, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Mock old version LG Electronics' smartphones are displayed at a store in Seoul, South Korea, April 5, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Influential U.S. tech reviewers echoed the sentiments.

"LG were never perfect but in a world of boring slabs they delivered some of the most unique phone designs, ideas and features ever," said YouTuber Austin Evans here on Twitter.

LG, which had been making mobile phones for about a quarter of a century, ultimately fell behind rivals Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, in part due to lacklustre marketing and slow software updates.

Its smartphone division logged nearly six years of losses, totalling roughly $4.5 billion by the end last year.

For all the fandom, some criticised the phones, saying the shutdown was inevitable.

“The writing has been on the wall for a long time ... things didn’t improve,” said user cdegallo on Reddit.

Reuters

More

Read more

NASA delays crewed lunar landing to 2027

The United States is pushing back its planned return to the moon from 2026 to 'mid-2027' as it deals with heat shield issues and other troubles plaguing its Orion crew capsule, NASA officials said Thursday

2 days ago
;

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Latest news

Ho Chi Minh City hosts Vietnam-S.Korea Festival

The event, which features attractive trade, culinary, cultural, music, and sports activities, is taking place along the Sky Garden commercial and food street in Tan Phong Ward, District 7 and lasts until January 7