The end appears to be near for LG's smartphone business.

Since January, LG has been rumored to be giving up on its smartphone business after years of losses. The rumors may have come close to becoming reality, as reports from South Korea indicate that the company will announce that it will exit the cell phone business this coming Monday (April 5).

The Korea Times report quotes an industry source as saying, "LG has been considering various options, including a sale, a divestiture, or exiting the smartphone business, but recently decided to exit the business."

Still, LG has been considering various options for its business.

Still, barriers have stood in the way of LG's cell phones for some time. Last month, the handset maker reportedly suspended development of its successor, the LG V60. Also swirling are rumors of the LG Rollable, a phone with an enlarged screen that was the talk of the town at CES earlier this year; LG said at the time that a rollable phone would appear this year, but subsequent reports suggest that the LG Rollable has also been canceled.

As of the end of 2020, LG had the third largest market share of any cell phone manufacturer in the U.S., but was a distant third behind Apple and Samsung. Globally, LG has long since lost market share to Chinese rivals such as Huawei and Oppo. [Techsponential president and principal analyst Avi Greengart said, "The smartphone industry is littered with large brands that have stumbled and failed to turn a profit. Most of the direct profits from smartphone sales go to Apple and Samsung, and LG has failed to build a software and services ecosystem around its phones."

"Motorola has had recent success with its low-cost Moto G series, and Google's Pixel has earned high marks for its photo capabilities.

"The high end of the market is mostly in the hands of Samsung and Apple, and they are followed by a long line of Android smartphone vendors offering mid-range/high-range phones at mass-market prices or absorbing the entry-level market with attractive mid-range devices It's a long line," said IDC's Ramon Llamas. And while LG had a strong start in the market, it struggled against companies that were willing to undercut it on price and pull customers deeper and deeper into their respective ecosystems."

LG has been trying to make a splash in recent years with new designs; in addition to developing the LG Rollable, LG also introduced the LG Wing, a phone with a secondary display that swivels from behind the main screen. Last year's LG Velvet was also a welcome attempt to bring stylized design to more affordable mid-range phones.

In 2016, LG differentiated itself with the LG G5, which works with an accessory called Friends. However, like other modular phones, the device never caught on.

"If LG closes its cell phone business, the biggest competitive impact would be in the U.S. prepaid market, where LG is trying to maintain volume sales, and in South Korea, where LG owns U Plus, a wireless carrier," Greengart said. LG is not the only company working on new smartphone designs for flexible displays, "but LG's upcoming rollable phones will also be missed."

But as of Monday, it appears that these devices as well as future LG phones will be gone; IDC's Lamar said, "LG's history and recent R&D has a lot to offer other companies."

We will keep an eye on Korea for any sort of final word on LG's cell phone efforts.