After months of indiscretions and rumors is about to arrive the official confirmation: according to the Korean press LG on Monday will announce the closure of the smartphone division.
The news was in the air for months, but now it's almost official: LG is going to close its smartphone division, moving the workers in other divisions, after trying in vain to sell it. The official confirmation of LG is not yet there, but almost.
As there is the day in which it could arrive, that is Monday 5: while Italians will celebrate Easter Monday, in fact, the Korean company will make an announcement on the future of its mobile division. This is confirmed by Korea Times, reporting LG's comment: "There is nothing to declare about it. All we can say is that every possibility is still open and that, although we cannot confirm it yet, we will announce the future of our mobile division." All this just a few months after the presentation of LG's most innovative concept phone ever, a unique foldable smartphone because it doesn't fold but rolls up.
LG smartphones: attempts to sell
The first consistent rumors about a possible sale of LG's smartphone division date back to January, when the Korean newspaper The Elec gave news forcing LG to an official denial.
LG has been selling smartphones at a loss for more than five years: the first negative quarter was the second of 2015 and, since then, the mobile division has not returned to profit. Secondo Business Korea già a gennaio il gruppo vietnamita Vingroup aveva fatto una offerta ad LG, ma la trattativa non andò in porto.
In seguito si è parlato di una (meno probabile) trattativa tra LG e Volkswagen, ma anche se ci fosse stata veramente il risultato sarebbe lo stesso: nessuno vuole comprare la divisione mobile di LG.
Il futuro dei concept LG
Negli ultimi mesi LG ha portato sul mercato uno smartphone a dir poco innovativo: si tratta di LG Wing, che è sul mercato ma non vende affatto bene. E’ uno smartphone con un secondo schermo che ruota formando una “T" o, come dice il nome, una sorta di ala.
Più recentemente, al CES 2021, LG ha mostrato al mondo il suo concept LG Rainbow: è uno smartphone con schermo arrotolabile, quindi di dimensioni variabili e che si adatta alle esigenze dell’utente.
Entrambi questi progetti, se LG venderà la divisione smartphone, sono destinati a cadere nel dimenticatoio. Unless LG finds someone willing to buy their patents and designs, reviving them under another brand.