LG Reportedly Plans On Selling An Online-Only, Budget Smartphone In India

The smartphone market in India is captured by Chinese brands, with Xiaomi leading for the past seven quarters. Samsung, which earlier held the helm for several years before being overtaken by Xiaomi, recently had to rethink its strategy to stay put against the former’s aggressive pricing. While the results after the introduction of the Galaxy M-series have yet to be seen, Samsung claims to have sold 2 million units under the new branding already. Following in its footsteps, fellow Korean company LG, which was once among the leading players in the Indian market, is now planning to revamp its sales strategy to regain some of its lost share.

As per a report by 91Mobiles, LG plans on launching a new smartphone in India that will be available exclusively online. This is reportedly part of the company’s aspirations to grow its presence in the only positively growing smartphone market in the world. The smartphone will be for the affordable segment in India, although the exact price bracket is not confirmed yet.

Based on the leaked images, which seem to be digital renders or some sort of marketing collateral, we see that the smartphone will feature a triple rear camera setup. Additionally, there’s a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor while the back features a gradient of colors. One of the images also uses keywords like AI and FullVision but that does not show much about the smartphone.

91Mobiles also notes that the smartphone may borrow certain features from LG’s flagship G and V series. While other details including the tentative name of the upcoming smartphone are not known yet, LG may release the smartphone within this month. We will definitely be updating you as we get more information about the smartphone.

With this revamped strategy, LG may be looking to rekindle its waning smartphone business. The company’s smartphone unit has posted losses for the fifteenth consecutive quarter with a 12% decline in revenue compared to the Q4 of 2018. With losses piling up, the company has been forced to stop smartphone manufacturing in its home country of South Korea and is now relying on its manufacturing unit in Vietnam. So, it will interesting to see what it uses to thrives in a cut-throat market like India.―XDA Developers