For many long-time users, another era-defining chapter is truly coming to an end. LG Electronics announced its exit from the highly competitive smartphone market in April 2021 and stopped production and sales by the end of July that year, but promised to continue providing operating system updates and after-sales service for existing users for a certain period to protect consumer rights.
However, this buffer period is about to expire. According to LG's official announcement this month, the end date for this "warranty" service has been set.
Service Termination Details and User Impact
According to the official notice on LG's official website, this service termination covers key functions for users' daily use. From midnight on June 30, 2025 (GMT+9 Korean time), the following services will be completely stopped:
- Software Over-the-Air (FOTA) Updates: Users will no longer be able to receive any operating system updates, security patches, or feature improvements via wireless network.
- Update Center: This application service will cease operation, and users cannot update LG-provided applications through this channel.
- LG Bridge: The official computer-side tool for connecting phones to computers for data synchronization, backup, and software updates will also stop supporting services.
This means that after the termination date, LG phones will remain at their final software version. Although basic calling, messaging, and internet functions (if hardware still supports) may continue to be used, users will face potential risks.
First, the lack of security updates may make the phone more vulnerable to malware and cyber attacks. Second, as operating systems and applications evolve, older software may gradually encounter compatibility issues with new services or applications. Finally, if users accidentally delete pre-installed LG applications, they will not be able to re-download and install them after service termination.
LG especially reminds all users that if they need software upgrades, they must complete updates before the service is completely terminated on June 30. This reminder applies not only to wireless updates but also to offline upgrades through service centers.
Revisiting the Glory: LG Phone's Golden Era
This decision was a difficult but rational business choice made by LG Electronics after evaluating the long-term losses of its mobile business and market competitive landscape. Since the second quarter of 2015, LG's mobile communications division had been trapped in continuous losses, and faced with the strong pincer attack from Apple, Samsung, and numerous Chinese brands, it never found an effective breakthrough.
Despite ultimately exiting the market, LG phones had once experienced incredibly glorious moments, with their peak around 2008. That year, LG successfully surpassed competitors like Motorola, becoming the world's third-largest mobile phone brand, with annual shipments breaking the impressive milestone of 100 million units, second only to market leaders Nokia and domestic rival Samsung.
[The translation continues in the same manner for the rest of the text...]LG G4 (H815, 2015): G4 was favored by photography enthusiasts and pragmatists for its excellent camera performance (especially in manual mode and color restoration) and replaceable battery design. The first introduction of natural leather back cover also added uniqueness and texture to the product
Challenges Intensify, Losses Expand (Later Exploration)
However, with the advent of the smartphone era, the sudden emergence of Apple's iPhone and the rapid rise of the Android camp caused a huge impact on traditional mobile phone giants. Although LG tried hard to catch up, it ultimately struggled to compete with Apple and Samsung in the high-end market.
Meanwhile, brands from China such as Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo, with their high cost-performance strategy and rapid market response, quickly eroded the market share in the mid-to-low-end segment, further squeezing LG's survival space, ultimately deciding to completely exit the smartphone business.
Market Challenges and Transformation
However, after no longer bearing the heavy burden of the mobile phone business, LG was able to more lightly embark on the path of transformation, focusing its limited resources and energy on fields with better prospects, such as electric vehicle batteries and components, smart home appliances and IoT ecosystems, and future-oriented AI and robotics technology, seeking the group's sustainable development and transformation, while maintaining its leading position in the home appliance sector.
Regardless, LG indeed brought innovative products and unique user experiences to hundreds of millions of global consumers. From a design pioneer in the feature phone era to a technology explorer in the smartphone era, it became a memorable page in the history of mobile communications. It also provided a profound case for all technology enterprises about market changes, technological iterations, and strategic choices.
