LG Electronics' V50 ThinQ smartphone / Courtesy of LG Electronics



By Baek Byung-yeul



LG Electronics has seen signs of a rebound in its struggling smartphone business as the firm's first fifth-generation (5G) network supporting smartphone V50 ThinQ has been received well here.



Local mobile carriers said Monday more than 100,000 people purchased the V50 ThinQ over the weekend and the device's first week sales volume already surpassed that of its predecessor, the V40 ThinQ.



"It is estimated that the sales volume of the V50 ThinQ smartphone was three times more than the V40 ThinQ in its first week of sales," an official from a mobile carrier said. LG was scheduled to launch the V50 ThinQ on April 19 but changed the release date to May 10 to make sure the device worked well on the 5G network.



Thanks to the popularity, the number of people who have subscribed to the 5G service surpassed the 400,000 mark. Korea launched the 5G mobile network on April 3.



For LG, this could be a positive sign of rebound in the struggling smartphone business as the phone maker has not been doing well, losing its share in its major markets ― Korea and the United States.



According to data by industry tracker Canalys, it sold 4.8 million smartphones in North America in the first three months of 2019, a 24 percent decrease year-on-year. The firm's market share in Korea in 2018 also declined to 14.3 percent, according to Strategy Analytics data, a 3.1 percent point decrease year-on-year.



"Though we cannot unveil the sales volume of the new device, The V50 ThinQ has been receiving a good market response," an LG spokesman said.



LG has been pinning high hopes on the 5G-enabled smartphone. To improve its market share, it has been providing aggressive promotion deals offering a dual screen worth 219,000 won ($185) for free until the end of June.



The growing popularity of the V50 Thinq also stems from a high subsidy rate. Though the device is officially priced at 1.19 million won, mobile carriers have offered subsidies worth between 500,000 won and 700,000 won to allow more consumers to subscribe to 5G services.

