The US phone-market gap left by LG's exit is being filled by OnePlus, Motorola, and Nokia

[midian182]

In brief: LG’s decision to stop making phones has left a void in the US market, and it’s happily being filled by OnePlus, Motorola, and Nokia HMD. While component shortages continue to affect a vast range of consumer goods, including smartphones, the overall market grew 27% in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

Counterpoint Research’s latest report shows that LG’s shipments in the US phone market fell -35% YoY in H1 2021. Rumors that the South Korean firm would exit the business following 23 quarters of consecutive losses arrived in January, and LG confirmed its departure in April, with its last-ever phone rolling off the production line a few weeks later.

In addition to LG’s farewell, there has been an increased demand for more affordable 5G phones and the well-documented component shortages, making it a challenging year for OEMs. But OnePlus, Motorola, and Nokia HMD have stepped into the gap left by LG.

OnePlus saw the biggest gains; it recorded 428% growth in H1, partly thanks to the introduction of the N100 and N10 5G in January, while Motorola was up 83% and Nokia HMD jumped 35%. Apple, meanwhile, was up 53%, while Samsung increased 17%, though Counterpoint believes Samsung’s figures would have been better if it had been able to meet demand.

LG wasn’t the worst performer in H1; that dubious honor goes to ZTE, which fell -77%. Google, which hasn’t released a new phone since the Pixel 4a in October, was down -7%.

While the 27% overall market growth is good news for the industry, Counterpoint Research’s senior analyst Hanish Bhatia offered this warning: “Component shortages are resulting in OEMs falling short in meeting carrier demands for specific smartphone models, while also forcing some to prioritize certain models over others. If this continues, it may put a big constraint on the supply side in H2 2021.”

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https://www.techspot.com/news/90566-us-phone-market-gap-left-lg-exit-filled.html

 

[3volv3d]

Did the pixel 4a come out after the pixel 5?

I liked LG phones. The LG G2 was amazing on battery but obviously that's an old phone and things have changed.

But they were innovative and a little outside the box like Nintendo are.
Nintendo haven't always got the recognition they deserved, but they have hung in there against bigger more powerful consoles, and stood their ground or found their niche.

Seems LG just saw a time to depart. Hoping Nokia will bring something to the table.
Will probably be a matrix 4 edition of the 8110, or maybe neo will have something new to WhatsApp Trinity on.

 

[psycros]

I just want phones that are easy to use like they were in the mid-2000's. Is that so much to ask? While I'm wishing, maybe we could get a nice physical keyboard now and then.

 

[p51d007]

I just picked up a Samsung A71 for around 300 bucks. Fast, great display does exactly what I need.
I don't get this "demand" for 1000 dollar plus phones.

 

[mgilbert]

Yes, but do any of these new phones have a high end DAC and headphones amplifier, like my LG V35?

 

[Watzupken]

I feel LG made decent phones, but the main problems with LG phones are,
1. Hardware tends to lag behind, though they make it up with some innovation. Unfortunately, these innovations don't always cater to phone buyers' wants,

2. Lack of software updates. I've used the LG G4 in the past because it looked great with the leather back and the slight curve. But I hardly see any updates for the phone in a year. Any new Android rollout may take 2 years, or may not make it to the phone at all even though it is a flagship phone. The main problem with lack of software update is that bugs take a long time to fix, if it ever gets fixed at all.

Overall, I still like the G4 and I would have chosen LG over a Samsung phone anytime. I've experienced too many disappointments with Samsung phones.

 

[Danny101]

Started out with ZTE, then Blu, but now have been using Motorola for the past couple of years. The Blu phones were around $250 and the last Motorola at $300. To me that's expensive for a phone that would only be supported for 2 years. I lost the Blu phones for various reasons, but mostly due to being clumsy along with insufficient protection. With the Motorolas, I found Poetic cases, and they work well for my clumsy a$$. If I can level up on Lineage OS knowledge, that should solve the long-term support issue. I shouldn't have to do that, but such is life. C'est la vie! When you run into a barrier, it's a waste of time gnashing teeth in the naval gaze of blaming. Learn something, do something. Sooner or later, the world catches up.