LG Smartphones Aren't Going Away Yet

Although it didn't exactly have a new phone to announce at CES 2021 a few days ago, LG did show off something that it promised would be coming soon. Confirming months or even years of rumors and speculations, LG officially revealed it has been working on a rollable phone and, better yet, it will be coming to markets this year. That makes it strange, then, that it would suddenly tell its employees that its smartphone business would be shutting down but, at least officially, that won't be the case.

It's actually not hard to imagine LG folding its mobile group sooner or later. It has been bleeding for years and, despite CEO Kwon Bong-Seok's unsurprising predictions, it isn't clear yet if the company will be able to turn the ship around in time. According to one report, though, time has already run out.

That report, which has now been deleted, from Korean news site The Elec claims that LG employees in South Korea were informed that the company will be shuttering its mobile business. They were reportedly told to halt all work on mobile-related products except for Project I, formerly Project B, the rollable phone it just teased at CES. LG will supposedly make the official announcement at the end of the month.

LG's Ken Hong, however, told XDA that in no certain terms is the company ending its smartphone business. That's not surprising, as the company is unlikely to confirm any significant troubles at home, especially after strong statements from its top execs. Whether LG mobile is actually able to stay standing for long, however, is a different question.

The company, after all, has been winding down some of its smartphone products and activities. It has also started outsourcing some of its models, acting more like an ODM than an OEM. At least for now, LG fans can rest assured that the company hasn't thrown in the towel, at least not yet.