Who bought LG mobile phones? The brand had its highlights but disappeared from the industry

LG is a traditional company in various technology sectors. The South Korean manufacturer generally stands out in segments such as televisions, air conditioners and home appliances.

But the company also highlighted in the field of mobile telephonywith mobile phones and then smartphones. But in recent years, little or nothing has been said about the brand’s models.

LG It came to disturb leaders like Samsung, Nokia and Motorola Pioneering in functions, bold in launches, with praised and commercially successful models. Brazil was an important market for the company, especially in the cheapest lines.

Despite, He never got close to being the lead actor in this market. Moreover, Repeated errors in launches caused the division to accumulate losses This hurt the company overall and forced management to make a difficult decision.

LG’s orbit and mobile phones

LG was born from the merger of two divisions. One of them is Lak-Hui Chemical Industrial or Lucky was founded in 1947 and initially focused on cosmetics and hygiene or cleaning products.

The other one is Gold StarIt is the electronics division of the same company and is a pioneer in the production of devices such as fans, telephones and refrigerators in the country.

In 1983 Lucky and GoldStar merge into one venture. Twelve years later, the name was changed again and both brands were referred to by their initials. LG emerged as a company that increasingly had a global presence in a number of sectors of the technology industry.

One of these was the mobile phone, which began with the launch of the flip. LG-800 Gradually it began to understand the trends in this market and took its place among the leaders.

Other prominent models of the period include LG B1200the first of the brand with its games and sales success; the LG KG800 ChocolateA stylish model from 2006; and fashion LG Prada’s One of the pioneers of using touchscreens instead of physical buttons, from 2007.

The era of smartphones

According to Counterpoint Research, LG finished 2009 as the world’s third largest mobile phone maker on sale. Its main segment was still “non-smart” phones. 120 million devices soldbut it seemed ready for the smart segment.

However, the start of this initiative was not as the company had imagined. At the beginning, He chose Windows Phone instead of Android as his operating systemA choice that turned out to be wrong when the Google platform turned out to be a more popular alternative among the public.

Among the models released during this period LG Quantum And LG E900 Optimus 7almost forgotten today.

First Android smartphone GW620or LG Eve also its partnership with Google led it to produce it. The first models of the Nexus series.

But the organization actually came up with the LG Optimus, which was initially an intermediary device but was a sequel. Optimus G In 2013.

The Optimus G was a local phenomenon; 1 million units in four months in South Korea alone. The brand began updating this smartphone family, now called LG G, every year.

The LG G2 was equally praised for featuring a physical rear button and features that debuted for the first time. Hit CodeThis allowed the phone to be unlocked by specific touches on the screen.

Experiments, decline and end

By the late 2010s, LG was increasingly losing ground to companies like Samsung and Motorola, while failing to keep up with emerging Chinese brands like Xiaomi.

It diversified its smartphone series with more affordable models. K lineAnd V exclusive model familybut this was not enough to increase sales. The LG G series also lost popularity, especially due to its high prices.

Some bold actions also turned out to be very risky and irreversible. This situation LG G Flex (2013)a flexible body device and LG G5 (2016)Which was modular but was not well received by the public due to design flaws.

These experiments continued for a longer time: from 2020 the LG Wing was an interesting smartphone with a horizontal secondary screen, leaving the device in the shape of a “T”.

Only The mobile division has not recorded a profit since 2014 And, At the end of 2019 it had less than 2% of the market After much speculation, LG has confirmed that its mobile devices division will be permanently shut down in April 2021 to focus on other electronics sectors.

The company’s latest smartphone had the same qualities and caveats as the brand’s top-tier smartphones of recent years: the LG Velvet had a beautiful design and good performance, but its price tag already seemed unrealistic.

Today, it is even possible to find LG mobile phones in digital stores and auction sites, but without any support or updates – the public is only interested in nostalgia for the brand’s golden age in mobile phones.