With the release of two well-received Android smartphones, the LG G2 and the Google Nexus 5, you might be thinking that LG was doing quite well in the smartphone space and ready to make more waves. Not so according to Korean news site, ET News, who is reporting that LG is going to scale down its smartphone business in favour of its TV development. The scaling down will trigger a 10% downsize in the smartphone division at LG, which is only one part of a company-wide re-structuring that is about to occur.
LG has remained at 3rd in the global smartphone market standings for some time now, however in Q3 this year, LG plunged to 5th after being overtaken by Huawei and Lenovo, decreasing their marketshare from 5% to 4.7%. It should be noted that this doesn’t mean that LG is pulling out of the smartphone business, but as one LG insider put it: “In the long run the smartphone business is important, but [vice-chairman Koo Bon-Joon] is trying to concentrate on the TV business, something that [LG Electronics] can do well in.â€
It’s a bit of a shame to hear this, particularly as good and innovative smartphones like the LG G Flex are just starting to stretch their legs and show us what LG is really capable of. For their sakes, let’s hope they can continue to push this kind of ingenuity in their smartphones with their smaller workforce.
What do you think about this news? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: ET News via CNET Australia
