Why did LG stop making tablets?

Korean conglomerate LG is known for its televisions, washers and dryers, and refrigerators, but it was also a big name in mobile devices. It actually enjoyed early success with its Optimus series starting in 2011, but fell over the next decade to domestic rival Samsung, culminating in the company abandoning its Android business in 2021. Why did LG stop making smartphones? It seems the company’s tendency to aim for a niche concept like modular accessories, curved form factors, and a focus on creating content in hopes of releasing it to the general public never really took shape. The mobile division was bleeding money and it had to stop.

The closure of the mobile division also meant that tablets were apparently ruled out as well. But LG’s latest Android tablet, the Ultra Tab, was released in 2024. Even more shocking, this Ultra Tab followed a 2022 model of the same name – barely a year after leaving the mobile race. LG has never really invested in manufacturing the few tablets it has made, so what gives? Why did he stop making tablets and then start making them again?

LG’s history with Android tablets is short, although it spans over a decade. Apple released the original iPad in 2010 and, as with the iPhone, competitors rushed to make their own, but not LG. For what? Sources told The Korea Times in 2011 that tablet sales in Korea were tepid, production costs were high and the company would hold off on plans for the time being. Samsung’s word? The first to arrive have the advantage. Since then, Samsung has evolved with several mid-range and flagship models updated every year for years.

LG took until 2013 to unveil the G Pad, and even then it didn’t hit the market until 2014. The company returned with the G Pad II in 2015, then the G Pad III and IV in the following years, then launched the G Pad 5 in 2019. All of these tablets featured mid-range or older flagship components – the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 of the G Pad IV upgraded to a three-year-old Snapdragon. 821 with the G Pad 5. They were good, if modest, products on their own, although they were often given as gifts for carrier promotions.

By the time the manufacturer announced its withdrawal from Android, tablet owners were no longer getting operating system upgrades. The company’s mobile devices have never lasted as long as, for example, LG TVs usually last.

Out of the blue in 2022, LG announced the Ultra Tab. It continued the G Pad’s lineage with average specs and mediocre value, but unlike the previous series, the Ultra Tab was only available as a business-to-business device in South Korea. We don’t have any numbers on its success, but it apparently sent enough good signals for LG to update the tablet in 2024. It’s unclear whether the company will continue the Ultra Tab line – 2026 would be about the time for a refresh – but we’re pretty sure that if you want to buy one of these through official means, you’ll be out of luck.

It is important to remember LG’s outsized position as a chaebol (literally “wealth clan”) in Korean society. The conglomerate has fingers not only in electronics (although we think LG has some of the best electronics on the market), but also in chemicals, telecommunications and energy storage. Thanks to the scale it has reached over the decades, the loss of a limping company has very little impact on the financial results. So if it makes sense for LG to make tablets for enterprise customers, it may continue to do so. Some fans of mobile technology nevertheless want a return in which everyone could participate.