Features

Fall of LG Mobile: 5 years of experimenting gone wrong

A loss of $4.5 billion in six years

Published

April 7, 2021

Shivam Vahia

South Korean electronics giant LG announced it’ll be shutting down the smartphone division (LG Mobile) due to deepening losses. After six years of posting a consistent loss, it was time for the phone maker to give up and focus on products that promised growth.

If you’re closely following the smartphone industry, LG Mobile’s demise doesn’t feel surprising. It was always playing catch-up in the market while Samsung and Apple were the trendsetters. Its current global share is only about two percent. It shipped 23 million phones last year which pales in comparison to the 256 million shipped by Samsung, according to research provider Counterpoint.

The story of LG Mobile is quite the same as BlackBerry, Nokia, Motorola, and HTC. The four brands that were once considered legends in the smartphone market are now history. Even though most of these brand names are again active, they no longer have the legacy DNA that made them what they were.

Why did LG Mobile fail to get a stronghold while newcomers like Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, and vivo prospered? It also had an established sales channel in the US and Europe, where the demand for premium phones is higher. So, what went wrong?

The classic Samsung vs LG conflict

In March 2015, Samsung launched the Galaxy S6 while LG showed off the G4 after a month. Around the same time, HTC had also unveiled the One M9. This was when the three companies would try their best to outbid the other, and the stakes were high. Unlike today, Samsung was new to multiple variants of the same phone and it wasn’t the standard practice. LG Mobile only had one flagship and it had to do all the heavy lifting. Hence the price was also an important factor.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, & Galaxy S6

Samsung was racing ahead with positive sales of the Galaxy S6 (and S6 edge) while LG Mobile wasn’t far behind. It had a solid reputation, and the G4 clocked an enthusiastic response in the American market. But the overall global sales were below expectations. HTC’s decline had started, and it was gradually sinking since it completely failed to take on Samsung’s marketing might and a more confident product offering.

Just like Samsung’s two flagships per year cycle, LG debuted its V10 in the second half of 2015. While Samsung always had the S-Pen to differentiate the Note series, other phone makers were struggling to find their niche. The V10 sported a tiny secondary display that added an always-on feature for notifications, music controls, quick settings, and more to bridge this gap.

LG V10

Even though the V10 had top-of-the-line specs, dual-selfie cameras, and a few productivity-centric features, it couldn’t go up against Samsung. The S and Note-series now had curved screens, best-in-class cameras, improving UI (TouchWiz), and long-term software support. Even though Samsung was often late in pushing OTA updates, it maintained a far better roll-out history than LG Mobile.

And most importantly, Samsung was ready to splurge on marketing. While LG Mobile was playing catch-up with Samsung, the latter was trying to take on Apple. The ambitions of the South Korean companies were starkly different.

The experimenting phase

LG Mobile had spent a lot on ads in 2015, including getting Bollywood celebrity Amitabh Bachchan to endorse the G4. This was an ambitious campaign because it intended to capture India’s growing upper-middle class population, who usually aspire for an Apple or Samsung.

But after three years of chasing Samsung, LG was tired. The usual formula of creating a top-notch flagship just wasn’t enough. And with new smartphone trends like unibody design, dual-cameras, and larger screens, LG Mobile decided to experiment in 2016.

The LG G5 had a radical design — it was modular, and the user could swap parts. Around this time, the excitement around Google’s Project ARA was at an all-time high, and this seemed like a logical first step. Are you a power user? Here’s an extra battery that you can swap. Are you an audiophile? Here’s an external DAC. Love photography? Add manual DSLR-like buttons or a 360-degree camera!

Samsung Galaxy S7

It was a very futuristic approach, and it should’ve worked, but it didn’t. Samsung again stole the show with its Galaxy S7 series, and it helped the brand mint strongest profits in over two years. But even Samsung’s winning streak came to an end with the master-blaster Note 7. The second half of 2016 gave LG Mobile some breather, but it still wasn’t enough to celebrate.

So, why did a wonderful phone like the G5 fail?

It’s all about how you’re perceived as a brand. Samsung and LG are household names that make large appliances like refrigerators, televisions, and washing machines. These products are considered mass-market and are designed keeping a broader audience in mind. While LG still rules the heavy appliances market, it never focused on its phone division and had conflicting strategies.

Firstly, LG was a premium brand, but it frequently had to undercut its phones’ price to ensure an edge over the others. This meant that it wasn’t actually dictating a premium, and the other brands were perceived to be better. Apple never reduces the price of its products within months of launch. The losses and reducing revenues forced the company to cut costs. And this was easily visible through its software update history.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Apple iPhone X

Secondly, a phone like the G5 is too confusing for the average Joe. An iPhone is marketed as a stand-alone device that can do everything. Samsung too followed the same track and ensured its phones are near-perfect. The display, camera, battery, performance, and longevity all had to be taken care of. By adding modules, LG Mobile definitely gave the nerds a hard boner, but it also repelled the wider audience.

Many other phone makers have tried to create a niche, but they usually fail. The smartphone business is about scaling as much as possible to reduce operational costs. A niche phone like the G5 has a lot of appeal, but it attracts only a small audience. Brands like Nextbit, Essential, and BlackBerry tried to please the niche audience for too long, in turn, losing the larger user base.

Not learning from its mistakes

One thing every LG Mobile user will agree with — the software is horrendous. The company never took it seriously, and it was a serious letdown since the beginning. It was average until the G4 and then consistently went downhill ever since. Samsung’s TouchWiz has been a viral meme target, and that’s actually because of the number of units the company has sold. LG never sold enough units to earn a condescending meme in the wider social network.

I vividly remember that the company decided to skip the app drawer from its UI before the G5 launched but hastily decided to put it back because users weren’t happy. It was considered a mimicry of iOS. Incidents like these tell you that LG Mobile was confused — proceed independently or start taking inspiration from those who are successfully selling?

The LG G6 was also an exciting phone that housed an amazing wide-angle lens, sleek design, and a gorgeous LCD display (yes, LCD). I remember wanting to buy the phone, but it just didn’t seem like a worth-it deal. Why spend so much on an LG phone when I can get the Galaxy S8? By this time, the trust in Samsung was higher than ever, iOS had its own bubble, and new Chinese entrants like OnePlus were gobbling the market.

Samsung Galaxy S8, Xiaomi Mi Mix, and LG G6

On the eastern side of the world, OnePlus and Xiaomi were among the first few to truly understand the potential of a perfect UI running on Android. OnePlus started with a niche, Cyanogen Mod, and soon migrated to Oxygen OS. MIUI was at the heart of all Xiaomi phones and was just getting started. OnePlus not only ate into Samsung’s pie but also sidelined LG completely. The troubled brand was now struggling in the developed as well as developing world.

Its brand name had taken a massive hit, it wasn’t able to sell enough phones, and the competition slowly pushed it out. It could neither undercut others via price cuts in the US nor command a premium in Asia. All the sweet spots it had, were gone.

In the affordable and midrange, LG stood no chance as it had to go up against multiple competitors with exceedingly aggressive pricing. It didn’t have a large supply chain to go up against the Chinese players and after burning billions, the need to invest more was unjustifiable.

The final years of surviving

The G and V-series continued to get successors until 2019. The G8X ThinQ marked the end of the classic lineup that started it all. The V-series was being updated, but it was almost like nobody cared. In the last two years, the company had almost given up. But there were a few takers who still found a lot of value in LG phones.

LG made a lot of mistakes, but it also made phones unlike any other. Despite loss-making quarters, the brand remained loyal to its experimenting philosophy and showed innovative concepts like the Dual Screen cover. Foldable phones have been around for quite some time, but they’re fragile and expensive. LG’s new form factor brought something new to the table, and many were happy with it.

LG’s phones shall always be synonymous with wide-angle cameras, Quad DAC, OLED screens, and sleek designs. In a world where camera bumps are getting larger than the phone itself, having a simple light slab of glass and metal in your hand is very satisfying.

As a final gesture of survival, LG announced a brand new strategy in mid of 2020 and unveiled the Velvet. The new strategy also brought along a swiveling phone — the LG Wing. But it was too late.

LG Mobile could either abandon its plans to be a niche player and go full steam like realme or close down the business. Even with a niche, it wasn’t selling enough to cover basic operational costs. The board members of LG chose the latter.

The company that had once kickstarted webOS development was now leaving the mobile market for good. Although, this doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing LG around in the smartphone space. The giant is a lot like Samsung and makes class-leading displays, chips, and other components. You may not have an LG-branded phone in the future, but you’ll surely end up using its know-how passively.

From now on, the company will focus on divisions that have growth prospects–namely, electric vehicle components, artificial intelligence, connected devices, smart home solutions, and more.

A large company like LG, Nokia, BlackBerry, or HTC is harder to navigate. Due to the sheer size and distribution of the company, a turnaround becomes equally difficult. The irony is, these multiple channels of sales made them giants. And is the same reason why they got too heavy and can’t stay afloat.

WATCH: Remembering the best LG Phones

Related Topics:LG LG G5 LG G6 LG G8X LG Mobile LG Mobile Exit LG V10 LG V20 LG V40 Samsung

Features

Can the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Survive?

REDMI Titan Durability Challenge!

Published

January 17, 2026

GadgetMatch and Michael Josh Villanueva

As someone who travels and is outdoors a lot, THE Michael Josh will be the first to admit that he is NOT gentle with his phones.

They live in his pockets, bags, hands. They get dropped, they get wet, and they get dusty.

So when REDMI asked him to test something they call “REDMI Titan Durability,” he figured the only fair way to do it was to put the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G to the ultimate durability test.

Reviews

POCO M8 Pro review: Goin’ loco over this POCO

POCO starts 2026 with some bang

Published

January 15, 2026

Vincenz

Looking back at my first few months with GadgetMatch back in 2018 nostalgically evoked my Pocophone F1 core memory. It was touted as THE “flagship killer for less.”

Pre-pandemic, that “Pocophone” simply became “POCO” and became an “independent” kiddo who moved out of its parent’s house.

Almost eight years after that very first iteration, I’ve finally had my first (and long overdue) POCO-perience with the latest POCO M8 Pro.

Design: Repurposed with a purpose

While I have not held a POCO phone until very recently, I am still aware of the brand’s offerings over the years.

Seeing the POCO M8 Pro for the first time instantly reminded me of last year’s Redmi Note 14 Pro series. That’s not me saying POCO blatantly ripped the aesthetics as the POCO X7 also had the same design language.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Like a full circle moment, the aforementioned phones were launched back a year ago.

In all honesty, it still confuses me which direction Xiaomi is heading, especially with the non-stop rebadging of existing POCO and REDMI phones — just with scrambled internals and CMF (color, materials, finish).

Having said that, I still consider the M8 Pro a level up from the last M7 Pro. The former’s design felt like it was not given much importance.

The centered camera island with a squircle cutout seemed like a signature design element of Xiaomi’s newer midrange line moving forward.

I also love how the phone felt in my hands. Even with that plastic back, it felt grippy enough when held.

You have to be wary of fingerprint smudges though — especially if you rock the black colorway. Luckily, the green shade I have still looks clean despite those unwanted smears.

And, if you’re brave enough to clean it in running water, the POCO M8 Pro boasts not just one, not two, but quadruple IP ratings: IP66, IP68, IP69, and even IP69K. These used to be exclusive only among 2025 flagships.

Now Playing: IDOL I

Much like my fanaticism to anything tech, the same can be said with Korean Pop Stars. More known as “K-Pop Idols”, I have been a huge geek of K-Pop for 16 long years (and still counting).

Interestingly, after finishing a series that just ended in Netflix, IDOL I swiftly came by. Even if I am the type of viewer who values the drama’s synopsis more than the cast involved, this K-Drama instantly hit two birds in one.

For one, its starred by a true iconic idol herself: Choi Sooyoung — or one of the nine members of SNSD / Girls’ Generation a.k.a the ultimate 2nd generation K-Pop girl group I’ve been stanning since my youth.

Although Maeng Se-na here is a heartless and “selfish” lawyer, she is the opposite for being a huge (yet silent) fan of “Gold Boys” with Do Ra-ik as his “Ult” (or Ultimate Bias).

In a wild turn of events, the idol became a “murderer” overnight — blaming him for the sudden death of his co-member after waking up from their drinking session.

But, no matter how the general public looks at him as the prime suspect, finding faults against Ra-ik is difficult. That’s pointing out the fact that he was just sleeping in his bed while his former bandmate slash loyal friend got stabbed without clear answers.

I can pretty much say the same thing with the 6.83-inch screen of the POCO M8 Pro: I cannot see any fault at all.

For one, it’s an AMOLED display that made me enjoy binging the first four episodes non-stop. But, being able to display 68.7 billion Colors and 12-bit color depth aside from the usual HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support? That’s likely unusual for a phone in such price point.

And, with a 1.5K display resolution plus a pixel density of 447 ppi, it’s as crisp as it could get. Watching it outdoors is neither a problem with its mighty 3200 nits peak brightness.

While my eyes aren’t very sensitive to light and flicker, its 3840Hz PWM dimming and TÜV Rheinland Flicker-Free and Low Blue Light certifications are still worth mentioning — especially if you stay up all night binge-watching hours worth of titles like yours truly.

On Queue: Apink’s RE:LOVE + Chuu’s XO, My Cyberlove

Pumping up the volume by 60%, it’s expected that the POCO M8 Pro possesses a louder than ever sound output. However, my audio assessment doesn’t end just there.

Just like POCO starting the year with a bang, the K-Pop scene in January 2026 has already exploded with real hit bangers.

First and foremost, Apink finally gathered again to released their 11th Mini Album (their previous Mini Album dates back to 2020). As per usual, I used Apple Music to take full advantage of that Lossless format.

Their title track “Love Me More” not only brought a lot of the group’s nostalgic intro and dance break instrumental during their early days in the industry, it also reminded me of the pre-millennium K-Pop era back in the early 90s.

Pair that with b-sides such as “Sunshine” that sounded pure and soulful, this latest mini album will truly make Pink Pandas’ hearts flutter.

In addition, Chuu (LOONA) finally releases her 1st Full Album titled “XO, My Cyberlove.” It is a complete opposite of her first ever solo song “Heart Attack” almost a decade ago which highlighted her cutesy, innocent charms.

The comeback track of the same title is as quirky and whimsical as it gets. Not only does it highlight Chuu’s light yet ethereal vocals, but it shows her newer, more mature side.

Furthermore, lyrics that evoke unexpected budding love in this digital era where everyone enjoys making connections through the cyber world.

With POCO M8 Pro’s speakers, I fully enjoyed playing the entirety of her freshly-baked album while I was writing this piece. Teeny Tiny Heart and Love Potion are currently my fave b-sides from this release.

Such music fulfillment was possible with the Dolby Atmos stereo speaker setup and Hi-Res Audio support of the M8 Pro. Not only its proudly loud, the audio produced is full and immaculate with clear line between its highs, mids, and lows.

Performance: Adequate for most

On paper, the POCO M8 Pro runs Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 SoC based on a 4nm process. As confusing as it seems, this is different from the more powerful Snapdragon 7 Gen 4.

That being told, game settings will vary depending on how demanding one is.

For instance, CoDM (Call of Duty: Mobile) runs in Very High and Max settings upon first set-up.

Meanwhile, Racing Master (based on NVIDIA’s PhysX engine) can run Ultra settings at 60fps.

However, it throttles during the first two ranked races.

Fortunately, the game detects if it gets sluggish — suggesting lowering down the settings altogether.

Lastly, playing Zenless Zone Zero is doable but, at the lowest graphics by default.

You wouldn’t dare to go past it as Combat Mode will literally feel like combatting the phone itself due to how heavy the game is.

The only “remedy” for these hardware limitations? It’s none other than the Game Turbo mode that boosts graphics performance and input through Xiaomi’s software advancements. And it sort of helped make the gameplay smoother, but not fully.

For the rest of apps that are not graphics-intensive, the M8 Pro can breeze through various apps without hiccups, do split-screens, or multitasking along floating windows with ease.

I can truthfully say that the only thing dragging the POCO M8 Pro down is the software as a whole.

After experiencing the beauty of vivo’s OriginOS 6 and HONOR’s MagicOS 10, Xiaomi’s HyperOS still feels like an after-thought. While it can keep up with the modern-day Android features, its stability and optimizations simply don’t make the cut.

Besides, its built-in AI tools, device ecosystem, as well as cross-compatibility functionality aren’t as polished as what you get on other Chinese brands. Let alone, a rip-off from everyone’s fruit rival without much feature improvements.

Seriously, Xiaomi?

Worst thing? Maybe the ad slash bloatware infestation found not just on the lock screen. Even transferring personal files through Xiaomi’s native File Manager app plays an unskippable ad.

Battery: Eat it up! Eat it, eat it up! 🍝🎶

At 8.31mm, the POCO M8 Pro is as slender as it can get. How they were able to fit a 6500mAh battery inside its chassis is a true feat of engineering.

For the record, this is the first POCO M-series smartphone to have such a ginormous battery. It joins the same league as the POCO F8 Ultra, F7, and the X7 Pro (in India).

For added context, the M7 Pro, as well as the X7 with a similar form factor, only had a 5110mAh battery. But, numbers are just part of the story.

In day-to-day scenarios with light to moderate usage, the POCO M8 Pro can last you a full day — even more when you hit the bed with around 30% to spare.

As one would expect though, the biggest hogging can be felt when playing games.

During my gameplay stress test, downloading resources in Racing Master for about 30 minutes already consumed 5% charge (92% down to 87%). An hour of racing ate up 11 percent — from 87% down to 76%.

Letting it rest on my desk for 18 hours, the phone depleted to 51%.

At around 9 in the evening, I then started playing HoYoverse’s Zenless Zone Zero for exactly an hour. Battery charge went down further to 36%. Then, a 1.5-hour game in CoDM resulted to a 28% battery percentage. And, as of writing, the POCO M8 Pro still had a 3 percent charge left in its massive tank.

That said, the POCO M8 Pro comes with Xiaomi’s 100W wired HyperCharge speeds — adapter still bundled in the box.

By default, the battery charging speed is set in regular with the prompt / option to enable boosting.

In my GadgetMatch Charge Test results, it can be seen that the difference isn’t too far off.

	*Boosted HyperCharge*	*Regular HyperCharge*	*PPS Charging* (UGREEN 100W Nexode)
*START TIME* *From 0%*	1:11AM	3:10PM	4:06PM
3 minutes	10%	8%	1%
5 minutes	17%	11%	4%
*10 minutes*	25%	18%	13%
15 minutes	40%	23%	21%
20 minutes	46%	32%	28%
*30 minutes*	70%	50%	46%
45 minutes	88%	71%	67%
*1 hour*	99%	91%	84%
1 hour 15 minutes	–	99%	96%
*END TIME* *100%*	2:14AM 1 hour 3 minutes	4:27PM 1 hour 17 minutes	5:30PM 1 hour 24 minutes

PPS Charging is also possible. Although the device only showed “Quick Charge” while being filled up, it’s safe to say that it performs as fast as Xiaomi’s regular HyperCharge with a super close margin of only seven minutes.

Cameras: Surprisingly Satisfying

Prospective buyers of the M8 Pro wouldn’t have a hard time dealing with its conventional camera configuration: a 50MP f/1.6 main (wide) camera based on Light Fusion 800’s 1/1.55-inch sensor. That’s paired with a less outstanding 8MP f/2.2 UWA (ultra-wide angle) camera.

For the most part, the main camera does its job very well considering this type of device.

With the satisfactory 1x image sensor, 2x zoom is also possible, thanks to in-sensor cropping.

I honestly used the 2x mode more than I thought — especially when capturing my cats and food I devour.

You can go beyond the bounds. But, with obvious hardware limitations, the camera processing can only do so much.

Once that natural light disappears, it will be tricky to take low-light shots as this has NO dedicated Night Mode feature. No luck if you are using them indoors with artificial light around.

Instead, regular Photo Mode automatically detects a low-light subject and toggles Night Mode processing by itself.

While most results are satisfying, it’s also a testament that its cameras are far from being flawless.

Good thing, the flash exists for a funkier look in subjects that suit it — food specifically.

Portraits weren’t missed. Although it only relies on some software-based processing, it still gets the job done of separating the subject away from the background — humans and pets alike.

Personally, the aperture function was a bit of a nuisance.

For context, these shots were set to a low “f/1.8 aperture.” But, the M8 Pro rendered DoF (Depth of Field) that isn’t as shallow as what it’s supposed to show.

My frustration continues as the setting defaults back to f/4.5 after quitting and re-opening the camera app. That’s not even the standard lens opening when taking portrait photos.

And while we’re already here, selfies taken with its front-facing shooter.

Is the POCO M8 Pro your GadgetMatch?

While this isn’t the “flagship killer” most expect from a POCO phone, it’s hard not to go loco over how well-rounded yet wallet-friendly this POCO phone is — especially in the year 2026 where inflation is still unstoppable alongside the almost instantaneous and ridiculous RAM price hike.

ICYMI, the POCO M8 Pro has a starting price of GBP 299 / SG$ 389 / RM 1199 / PhP 16,999 (around US$ 279) for the 8+256GB configuration.

Meanwhile, the 12+512GB variant that I handle is priced at GBP 349 / SG$ 449 / RM 1499 / PhP 19,999 (approx. US$ 359).

Its closest rival is none other than the HONOR X9d. Coincidental or not, it was launched just a day after the unveiling of the M8 Pro.

Frankly, the only thing you’ll let go from HONOR’s sweet treat are its monstrous 8300mAh battery and more polished OS. This POCO-ffering blows it out of the water with a greater chipset, faster wired charging, bigger and better display, capable cameras, durability never forgotten.

Although it wasn’t totally highlighted, the POCO M8 Pro is undoubtedly a rebadged REDMI Note 15 Pro+ — Xiaomi’s midranger that heavily markets its “Titan Durability” capabilities.

The POCO M8 Pro has them all: from its sturdy aluminum frame, four IP ratings, even the fully-shielded front glass care of Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The biggest disparity? REDMI has a 200MP main camera over POCO’s 50MP shooter.

Despite some inconsistencies, the POCO M8 Pro is still an all-around midranger that will satisfy most users who want to purchase a shiny new smartphone without burning holes in your pockets.

It is a Swipe Right, Super Swipe, and a worthy recipient of the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval.