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LG Electronics is preparing to launch a "rollable" smartphone, a new type of gadget with an expandable display, in early 2021 in an effort to turn around its money-losing mobile device business, according to industry sources Thursday.
The company recently has started to produce a prototype of the rollable smartphones at its plant in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. While its competitor Samsung Electronics has been making phones that can be folded in half, LG is working to produce a phone with a flexible OLED screen that can be unfurled like a scroll, according to the source.
Regarding the specifics of the prototype, an LG official declined to comment saying "It is difficult to comment on a product that we haven't released yet."
The development of the new type of smartphones is in line with LG Electronics CEO Kwon Bong-seok's remark in January that the company's smartphone division will turn a profit by the end of 2021 by launching unique and exciting new gadgets.
The smartphone is deemed to be one of the core lifelines of LG as mobile-related products could be applicable for the development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT).
However, the company's mobile communications division, which handles smart devices, has seen 20 straight quarterly losses from the second quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2020, after continuously failing to woo customers with its handsets.
"LG Electronics' mobile business is going to be profitable by 2021. I can say we can make that happen as LG Electronics will expand its mobile lineup and steadily release new phones with some wow factors to woo consumers," Kwon, who took the top post of the tech company in November 2019, told reporters during a press conference at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
Industry officials said LG has been developing a variety of new devices equipped with new form factors as LG was hoping to be recognized as a "distant leader" in the affordable and design-focused mobile sector unlike market leader Samsung, which is focusing on expanding overall share and profit.
"As part of its effort to make the smartphone business profitable, LG has been testing different kinds of smartphones that use new types of screens," an industry official knowledgeable in the matter said.
"These attempts are to meet consumers' growing demand to do multiple tasks on one screen."
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| Seen is a patented design drawing of LG Electronics' foldable smartphone, registered with the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS). / Captured from KIPRIS |
LG's move to develop smartphones with various types of screens can be seen in the company's patent applications. According to the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service, LG registered a patent for a new foldable display that shows a device equipped with a flexible display that can stay open at a range of angles.
The company has reportedly adopted a flexible OLED panel produced by Chinese display maker BOE.
Given smartphone manufacturers are always required to diversify their supply sources for components, industry insiders said LG's partnership with BOE is unexpected because its sister company, LG Display, is one of the powerhouse companies in OLED panels.
An industry official said LG Electronics is accelerating its cost-cutting efforts rather than sourcing the OLED panels from its sister company.
"For its Velvet smartphone, which was released in May, LG is known to have used image sensors for its phone cameras from Samsung. This was a part of an attempt to cut costs and diversify supply sources for components," the official said.
