LG Considering Exit From Smartphone Business, Halts LCD Production for iPhone

LG is considering exiting the smartphone business entirely amid declining shipments and accrued losses of $4.5 billion over the past five years (via The Korea Herald).

lg wing

LG CEO Kwon Bong-Seok cautioned staff earlier today that the company is re-evaluating its presence in the smartphone industry:

Since the competition in the global market for mobile devices is getting fiercer, it is about time for LG to make a cold judgment and the best choice. The company is considering all possible measures, including sale, withdrawal and downsizing of the smartphone business.

He added that regardless of any change, the company will retain its current employees from the smartphone division and reassign them elsewhere.

LG has seen rapidly declining smartphone shipments in recent years, and the company is now believed to hold a market share of just two percent. LG has posted major financial shortfalls in its smartphone segment for 23 consecutive quarters, reaching a total loss of $4.5 billion.

When taking office as CEO in January 2020, Kwon pledged to turn the company's smartphone business around. The CEO's latest comments therefore appear to be an admission of failure to make the segment profitable.

At the same time, LG is reportedly ending its production of LCD displays for the iPhone, according to The Elec. LG Display had previously attempted to supply LCDs for the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE, but failed to meet Apple's requirements, leading to Japan Display and Sharp being selected as suppliers instead. LG's factory that previously made the components will be repurposed to manufacture automobile display panels.

Earlier this month, LG unveiled one of the world's first rollable smartphones at CES, as the company has endeavored to explore unusual designs to lure in customers. The future of this device, and other LG smartphones such as the LG Velvet and LG Wing, are now highly uncertain.

Tags: LG, LG Display

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Brings New AppleCare+ Options to India

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:42 am PST by
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time. Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...

Top Rated Comments

syklee26 Avatar
63 months ago
LG phones are not far behind from Samsung's in terms of quality. The problem has always been the sheer incompetence of LG marketing team.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
63 months ago
LG makes a solid device, that’s not the problem why they’re departing. They just can’t establish themselves in competition against Apple and Samsung, being those are predominant. Plus, they barely have any marketing from a consumer standpoint, which they only see what’s in front of them, which has been Apple and Samsung through billboards, commercials and carriers. So in someways, they’ve not been aggressive enough and put themselves in this situation.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apparatchik Avatar
63 months ago
There’s this faux perception on this forum that if you do a good, best-in-class, outstanding, revolutionary or otherwise killer product you automatically will be successful as a business. Things are much more complex than that thou.

Even if you sell massive amounts of a product and gain sizable market share, you can still be bleeding money and not be viable.

This is not about LG not innovating, not doing great phones and quality builds, I would say it has nothing to do with sells being low even, or not marketing properly.

The premium bracket of smartphones is cornered with Apple taking in 80-90% of the profits of the whole worldwide smartphone business and the rest 20-10% left to scramble by a myriad of manufacturers on all price brackets, from $50-80 USD borderline dumb android phones all the way up to $2K foldables.

Think about this for a second. Then, include all the emerging value-oriented Chinese manufaturers into the equation and you’ll see how even Samsung might be in trouble going forward.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2018/03/02/apple-continues-to-dominate-the-smartphone-profit-pool/
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleTO Avatar
63 months ago
I can’t say I’m really surprised. How often do you see LG phones out in the wild?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
63 months ago
Apple should buy them and start an Android line. Play both sides to sell services. ;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
63 months ago

I have a coworker who only gets LG phones. They always have problems.
Which model(s)? What kind of problems? There’s been multiple threads on this forum where members have had excellent experiences with LG over the years. That’s one person you’re referencing out of how many own LG phones.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)