TECH BYTE: LG Doing Away with Smartphones

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — LG is leaving the smartphone industry after 20 years in the business.

Apparently, its dual screen and swivel smartphones weren’t enough to compete with the Samsung Galaxy or Apple iPhone.

So what’s next for the company, and its customers?

LG Electronics says it instead wants to focus on other areas, like electric car parts, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

The South Korean electronics company will continue to manufacture phones over the next couple of months due to contractual obligations.

It will officially exit the cell phone industry by July 31.

So if you have an LG phone, what does this move mean for you? Do you have to get another phone like Apple or Samsung?

Not if you don’t want to.

LG also announced a three year pledge for operating system updates.

The company says existing customers with premium LG smartphones can get up to three Android OS updates.

This applies to premium phones released in 2019 and later. Think G and V series phones, along with the LG VELVET and Wing devices.

Certain 2020 models like the LG Stylo and K series will get two updates.

Future updates, of course, depend on Google’s distribution schedule, and device performance and compatibility.

Right now, if you’re still in the market for an LG phone, you can buy one if it’s in stock.

Service support and security software updates will continue for some time for certain devices, and will vary by region.

Customers are asked to contact their local LG customer service center for more details.

Even though it’s stepping away from making phones, LG says it still wants to work on 6G technology to help with competing in other business areas.