Last month, South Korea-based LG confirmed that it is exiting the smartphone business and is shutting down its mobile phone division. The firm is now planning to focus on other areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence, and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services.
In a bid to fill the gap of LG smartphones in the company’s home market, leading smartphone brands like Samsung and Apple have launched a trade-in program for LG phone users in the country, reports ZDNet.
As a part of the new trade-in program, the companies are willing to pay the trade-in value of the phone as well as an additional 150,000 won, which is around $135, for LG smartphone users who exchange their phones for a Samsung Galaxy series smart phones or Apple iPhone lineup.
Apple will be running its trade-in program up to 25th September and the users of 4G and 5G LG smartphones can exchange them for an iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Mini. But the program is only available in retail stores run by telecom companies are not through the Apple Store or Apple resellers.
On the other hand, Samsung will be running its program until the end of June, and users of LG smartphones can exchange their devices for the Galaxy S21 series or the Galaxy Note 20 series, along with the Galaxy Z Flip 5G and Galaxy Z Fold 2.
Currently, Samsung holds about 65 percent of the smartphone market share in South Korea while Apple holds around 20 percent. LG, which has now exited the market, controlled about 13 percent of the market.
Even though LG is out of the mobile phone business, the company has confirmed that it will push up to three versions of Android updates for all its premium smartphones. The three updates will start counting from when the phone was released.
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