By July 2021, the world might say goodbye to LG Electronics Global mobile section. This is when they are It is expected to subside, Although sales of their devices and spare parts will continue for stocks that are still available in the market.
Reports Earlier this year, it had already anticipated the division to close after nearly 6 consecutive years of losses totaling around $ 4.5 billion.
The last time LG Mobile made a profit was in 2014And at that time, they were considered one of the best smartphone manufacturers in the world with unprecedented designs.
It started well
The smartphone market has always been a tough competitor, but LG was somehow a strong competitor thanks to its risky nature.
2011 was a crucial year for LG when it entered the Guinness Book of Records after the Optimus 2X was The world’s first dual-core phone Publicly Available (Announced and Released).
Sure, there were issues with his OS, but early users were more than happy to overlook his flaws. This will also set the tone for LG’s adventurous spirit when it comes to their phones.
LG’s first G series smartphone, the Optimus G, was already considered to be better than the efforts of the flagship phone from Samsung and HTC at the time, but LG raised it to a higher level with the G2 in 2013.
It had a bigger battery than competitors Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One M7, and the camera supported 1080p / 60fps recording before Samsung. In the same year, the Optimus L4 was also the first triple-chip smartphone on the market.
In 2015, the G4 brought to Table A. Leather back In some variants, it is a feature that Huawei, Oppo and Vivo have copied since then. It also had a microSD expansion and a removable battery, the latter being a feature that LG will have in many of its future smartphones as well.
A certain group of users was shocked because it enabled them to replace the empty battery and charge it on the go via ‘BrasLG also sold.
The V20 may be one of the most talked about LG smartphones in history, as it was launched in 2016. It was the first LG smartphone to introduce Quad DAC, a system that enhanced the sound quality in the port.
It will continue to become a hallmark of LG smartphones, making it a starting point for music lovers, DJs and musicians.
The revolutionary and unique smartphone designs that LG has pioneered over the years include LG G Flex, The world’s first flexible smartphone, the V40 with its five cameras (the first in the other world by LG), and LG dual screen Issue.
When its competitors were looking for foldable phones, LG took a different path and instead offered users an optional second screen that they could connect and separate from the V50, G8x and V60.
so what happened?
In the first quarter of 2014, LG revealed that it had sold more than 5 million smartphones with LTE technology, a 79% increase over what it had sold throughout the previous year.
It was an all-time record for the company at the time, and they said they also shipped a total of 12.3 million smartphones In the first third of the year ..
Not to mention that by that time, the company also had a range of smartphones at various prices, making it an accessible option for many.
But several major problems will start to weaken the company’s mobile phone line and cause it to lose sales very quickly.
1) Bootloop issues that broke customer confidence
LG’s flagship phone at the time in 2015, the G4, had a Bootloop problemsA hardware problem that causes the phone to go into a never-ending restart cycle. Affected users were forced to search for servers and received a G4 replacement, but unfortunately many alternatives encountered the same bootloop issues.
This has broken customer confidence and possibly even trust in the brand, and in 2018, LG settled on the Class action On bootloop not only G4 issues, but G5, V10 and V20, to name a few other affected phones.
2) They had a creative spirit, but the applications were short
LG, which wants to provide users with a different experience, has started with the Standard smartphones. They enabled various attachments to be attached to the bottom of the G5, which should have provided additional functionality.
However, the units were limited in number and utility and, therefore, were not popular with consumers either.
3) Very slow major software updates
The company has it Poor track record To provide users with major software updates on time even for their major devices. They’ve already admitted this several times and said that they will develop a department to speed things up.
In 2018, we saw this come true with Software upgrade section, But for some reason, few changes are seen in its slowdown.
4) Weak marketing efforts compared to competitors
When was the last time you saw a marketing campaign or advertisement for LG smartphones? For me, many years have passed, mainly in cinemas during those 20-minute commercial sections.
Compared to other smartphone brands like Samsung and Apple, LG has never stopped shouting about launching a new phone. This caused their launches to usually fly under the radar, until something unique or quirky was indicated in the reviews.
Unfortunately, the one or two standout features weren’t really enough to convince consumers to make the purchase.
5) Often they were the first, but seldom the best
One of LG’s strongest points was their experimental attitude to creating unique designs, but the thing they lacked was conviction Its development to its height.
This made them the first to release many unique designs that have since been captured and improved by other brands at a faster pace.
Take for example the ultra-wide camera function and its initial bezel-less push with the G2, both features being popularized by their competitors instead.
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Obviously, while other brands have preferred the path of safer improvements through iteration, LG has always preferred to try something new or drastic.
Unfortunately, the mass market did not always appreciate their innovative moves, which slowed adoption and sales. Early adopters alone cannot maintain the brand.
While the mainstream market looks at LG smartphones and asks, “Why do we even need something like this?” The group of users who are still fans of LG’s passion will respond, “But why not?”
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