LG phones played a key role in the smartphone market in the US. The company had a fair share of the sub-$250 prepaid smartphone segment. With the announcement that LG is exiting the cell phone business, it is expected that some serious shifts will happen in the US market in the coming months.
According to Wave7 Research, a data/statistics analytics company, LG phones made up ober 25% of phones sold at Metro [1], for example. An exit of LG will mean that some other smartphone brands fill that vacuum.
According to CounterPoint Research, another data company, LG phones had 9% share of the US smartphone market as at last quarter of 2020 [2]. That is unlikely to have changed significantly at this time. So, it is safe to say that contenders will be fighting for that spot.
That 9% share gave LG the number 3 spot behind Apple (with 64%) and Samsung (16%). Behind LG was Alcatel, with 3% market share. All the other brands filled the remaining 7% share.
The contenders include brands like Alcatel, Motorola, ZTE, and Nokia, all of whom have been pushing for a bigger slice of the US smartphone market. They are also better known for their budget phones in the US. This makes them perfect candidates to take up LG’s place.
Of course, Alcatel has a headstart with its 3% share at the end of 2020. If Alcatel doubles down, it will take a lot for Motorola or Nokia to stand a chance.
OnePlus would have been a contender too, but the Chinese brand does not produce smartphones for the sub-$250 segment of the market.
References
