LG Looking to Shut Down Smartphone Business After Failing to Find a Buyer
LG is looking to close down its entire smartphone division after failing to find a buyer for the ailing section of its business, according to the Korea Herald.
In January, LG announced that it was considering options for an exit from the smartphone industry, "including sale, withdrawal and downsizing." Though LG was once the world's third-largest smartphone maker and a sizeable competitor to Apple in the industry, the company's smartphone business has seen declining shipments and accrued losses of $4.5 billion over the past five years, leading to the need for an urgent re-evaluation of the division.
LG reportedly entered talks with Vietnam's Vingroup and automaker Volkswagen about purchasing the company's smartphone business, but negotiations did not lead to an agreement. Although the decision has yet to be confirmed, industry insiders report that LG is now likely to shut down its smartphone business instead of selling it. A source speaking to the Korea Herald explained:
LG reportedly had talks with others over the sale of the unit but apparently there was not much progress in their negotiations. It seems that selling its entire mobile business appears to be difficult at this moment, as is the partial sale of the unit.
With LG's internal restructuring plan now reaching its conclusion and no buyer having been found, the company is said to be leaning toward cutting its losses by closing the smartphone division fully.
LG's recently announced smartphone projects, such as "Rainbow" and "Rollable," are believed to have been scrapped, as the company looks to utilize its existing mobile workforce elsewhere in the business, such as the vehicle component solutions division.
LG is expected to publicize the decision about its smartphone business unit next month after a board meeting.
Popular Stories
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development.
Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag.
Timing
Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false.
The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence.
Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476
The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick.
"We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote.
If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices.
With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...
