Written by Felix Richter, Statista.com
In a move that sounds more industry-shaking than it is, LG Electronics announced its decision to shut down its smartphone business by July 31. In a statement published on Monday, the South Korean company explained that its exit from the “incredibly competitive mobile phone sector” would allow it to “focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services.”
Please share this article – Go to very top of page, right hand side, for social media buttons.
In recent years, the former smartphone trailblazer – LG even preceded the iPhone with its first touchscreen phone, the LG Prada, in 2006 – had been relegated to an also-ran in the increasingly competitive smartphone industry. With Chinese brands like Huawei and Xiaomi quickly gaining popularity outside of their home market, LG saw its market share slip to low single digits globally. According to estimates from Counterpoint Research, the company shipped 24.7 million devices in 2020, which is equivalent to a market share of just 1.9 percent.
LG’s Exit to Leave a Hole in the U.S. Smartphone Market
While LG’s decision to close its smartphone business probably won’t make a huge difference at the global level (see graphic above), with Chinese manufacturers flooding the market with Android phones at all price levels, the company’s exit definitely will be felt in the United States. In the absence of many Chinese brands, alternatives to Samsung Android phones are hard to come by, explaining why LG’s market share is still considerably higher in the U.S. than it is globally.
According to data from Statista’s Global Consumer Survey, 10 percent of U.S. smartphone users aged 18-64 used an LG phone as their primary handset in 2020, trailing only Apple (44 percent) and Samsung (32 percent) in that respect. With LG out of the picture, it’s likely that Samsung will gain further market share, effectively turning the U.S. smartphone landscape into a duopoly.
You will find more infographics at Statista.
.
include(“/home/aleta/public_html/files/ad_openx.htm”); ?>
