LG Electronics’ move to kill its failed smartphone business is expected to create more opportunities for Samsung than other companies in the North American smartphone market, analysts said.
LG’s U.S. market share currently stands at about 10%, research firms Gartner and Counterpoint estimated, adding it was stronger in markets where it partnered with telecom companies to include its devices as part of a mobile plan.
“Apple tends to cater to the higher end of the (U.S.) market; so it might grab a small portion of LG’s sales,” Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen said. “It’s more likely that Samsung inherits a lot of it because both vendors compete across similar markets.”
Counterpoint analyst Tarun Pathak said LG was mostly competing in the mid-tier, as its flagship phones received tepid market response. “So it will be mostly the Chinese and mid-tier brands benefiting through the LG exit.”
MacDailyNews Take: LG cobbled together mid- to low-end Android junk from off-the-rack parts with a third-party iPhone wannabe operating system, so, naturally, fellow South Korean dishwasher maker Samsung is the perfect candidate to take over the task of low-margin barrel scraping from LG.
As we wrote this morning, LG will do better going forward by concentrating on making components for real iPhones.
And keep developing their OLED TV’s for which I now own 2 with a third 83″ OLED model coming my way in May.
Who gains?
LG phone customers….
😉