When discussing the decline of once-dominant mobile phone giants today, most minds inevitably turn to Nokia and Motorola. Both companies once held unassailable positions in the industry, with Nokia occupying a particularly prominent spot. Many of us have personally used a Nokia device. Who could have foreseen that with the advent of smartphones, these two titans would experience such rapid decline? Motorola, though acquired, still manages to stay afloat. However, Nokia's story is different. Despite several attempts at revitalization, it ultimately failed to regain its footing. Today, phones bearing the Nokia name are but a distant memory, marking its complete disappearance from the market.

There is another mobile phone giant whose fate mirrors that of Nokia: LG, which once fiercely competed with Samsung on the international stage. Recently, LG officially announced the termination of software update services on June 30th of this year, impacting all its mobile products. Essentially, after June 30th, neither feature nor security updates will be provided, leaving all LG mobile products unsupported.

Not only will applications cease to receive updates, but any deleted applications cannot be re-downloaded. Additionally, personal data previously collected for service provision will be destroyed upon the termination of software services. In fact, LG exited the mobile phone business four years ago. By then, LG mobile phone users should have anticipated the eventual disappearance of the entire venture. With a four-year transition period, there's little room for user complaints. What intrigues everyone is how LG Mobile fell from grace to complete oblivion.

Many may be unaware that LG Mobile once secured the impressive third position in international market share. Its style was uniquely its own within the industry. The G Flex series of curved-screen phones was particularly distinctive, but such quirky features doomed them to remain niche and thus, unsuccessful in terms of sales. Furthermore, LG mobile phones faced quality criticisms from users. Take the LG G6, launched prior to the iPhone X, as an example. It became known as the king of price drops in the mobile phone industry.

Its initial price was comparable to that of the iPhone X but plummeted to less than $200 within half a year, earning ridicule from users. Even Samsung, renowned for its steep price drops, pales in comparison. The reason lies in the subpar user experience. For instance, some users reported needing to charge their LG G6 three times a day just months after purchase. Additionally, LG lacked marketing prowess. Despite Samsung's meager market share in China, it never considered exiting. Conversely, LG made the decision to withdraw from the Chinese market in 2016 to streamline its operations.

Moreover, LG Mobile struggled to turn a profit. Since 2015, it has been incurring losses, amounting to nearly $4.5 billion to date. It's astonishing that it managed to sustain losses for a decade. With the rise of Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, LG failed to devise an effective response strategy. Its innovations were too quirky, leading it further down the wrong path. Amidst these multifaceted challenges, it ultimately ended up in its current predicament.

Among today's numerous mobile phone manufacturers, which do you believe will follow in LG's footsteps?