Tech company LG announced its plan to leave the competitive market of smartphones, whilst refocusing on smart home products. The South Korean company said that they will close their mobile business by the end of July, according to a Cnet report.

The existing phone will remain in the market. However, it will only be available for some time and vary by region, according to The Verge. The move has been rumored for several months following the division's huge losses over five years.

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LG Exits Smartphone Industry

"LG's strategic decision to exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector will enable the company to focus resources in growth areas," said LG in a statement.

LG has designed a variety of phone models in recent years in response to the competitive market of the mobile phone industry. LG wing was one of their notable mobile phones with a rotating main display that will reveal a smaller secondary screen beneath it.

LG also has planned to release LG rollable, a tablet-like phone with extending the display to create a larger screen. However, the announcement of the company's exit in the mobile industry also marked the death of the LG rollable.

Design and other features were also not helpful enough for the company to turn their phones into mainstream hits. Meanwhile, the company's more traditional handsets fell behind their rivals in aspects like camera performance.

LG highlighted that they will work with their business partner and suppliers while the exit to the smartphone market is ongoing. The company was once a rival of Samsung. However, LG's phones have struggled to be at par with Samsung's roster of smartphones. Meanwhile, LG's cheaper handsets have rivals from Chinese brands.

LG was not able to rank in the top 5 companies when it tried to dominate the smartphone industry. Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, and Oppo are the top 4 among the companies present in the smartphone market.

LG on Smart Home and Other Areas

The growth areas that LG mentioned they will focus on are smart homes, connected devices, vehicle components, artificial intelligence, robotics, and business-to-business solutions. The company also pointed out that the movement will make them focus on platforms and services.

Smart Home technology is any device or home appliance that can be connected to a network to be controlled. The said devices inside a smart home can be remotely or independently controlled. The technology also allows tapping into a high-tech functionality that is not possible in the previous years.

LG pointed out that they will continue to develop "mobility-related technologies, adding that they will work on 6G to reinforce their competitiveness in other business areas.

LG's refocusing on the Smart Home and other business areas adds the company to the list of device makers that gave up on the smartphone industry over the years. Nokia and Blackberry are among the companies also to be on the list.

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