After quitting phones in 2021, LG will soon pull the plug on its update servers

In context: It's been four years since LG announced it was quitting the phone business, marking a sad end for a brand that offered unique alternatives to the slew of Apple and Samsung models on the market. LG has continued providing software updates to customers since then, but that will end on June 30 this year.

After experiencing six years of falling sales and declining shipments, LG warned in January 2021 that it could exit the phone business. The writing was on the wall in March when Germany's Volkswagen AG and Vietnam's Vingroup JSC, which had been looking at acquiring the smartphone arm, backed away after negotiations fell through.

The confirmation arrived in April that year, killing off a brand that in 2013 was the world's third-largest phone maker.

Most firms leaving the phone business have been quick to end support for their handsets, but LG ...