LG dumps flagship smartphone brand G Series

LG Electronics has decided to drop plans to highlight its flagship smartphone brand G Series as part of efforts to turn around its struggling mobile device business, according to industry sources Friday.

The company has reportedly decided to ditch the brand name for premium, mass-market models, according to sources.

Instead it will start giving separate names for each model.

The decision was made public at a meeting between the company and mobile carriers in South Korea.

Since launched in September 2012, the G Series has been representing LG’s flagship premium smartphone lineup until last year.

A total of eight G Series phones were rolled out. The last one was G8.

“For upcoming premium phones, the naming will focus on each model’s design or special feature,” an official said.

LG is likely to unveil a new 5G-powered smartphone in May, according to market watchers.

The company was going to present its new product at the Mobile World Congress in February, but cancelled the event due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

LG’s mobile communications business is striving to make a turnaround. It posted losses for 19 consecutive quarters, accumulating 1.1 trillion won ($899 million) in deficit as of last year.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)