LG Electronics left the Android world in July, and while it never developed a flagship smartphone that could compete with the finest on the market, it was a popular source of low-cost smartphones, particularly in the United States. We now know what a US market without LG looks like thanks to new research from Counterpoint Research, and the big winner appears to be Lenovo’s phone business, Motorola.
According to Counterpoint Research, Motorola is the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the United States, with a 10% market share. Apple has a 58 percent market share, while Samsung has a 22 percent share. LG’s supply appears to have dwindled about September 2021.
Motorola’s gain, according to Counterpoint, is mostly attributable to its success at the lower end of the market and its positive connection with US carriers. According to the report, Research Director Jeff Fieldhack Motorola has stepped in to fill the hole left by LG’s departure.
The OEM possesses all of the important attributes that big carriers need, including a comprehensive portfolio, the capacity to scale volumes quickly, and low return rates. Motorola’s success in the United States has been fueled by its sub-$300 portfolio, which includes Moto G Stylus, Moto G Power, and Moto G Pure. Motorola has been an important free ‘switch’ device, a device that carriers use to migrate subscribers from networks that are being shut down or that MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) use when switching network partners, because of its reliability.
Motorola creates flagship cellphones on occasion, although they aren’t released on a regular basis in the United States. The Motorola Razr is a lovely retro-style foldable smartphone, but it’s incredibly fragile; our first-gen model from early 2020 broke in just one day. Seven months later, a sequel was confirmed, and it was released in October of 2020.
That was 18 months ago, and the Razr 3 is still missing. Motorola did not release a flagship Snapdragon 888 phone in the United States last year. The Motorola Edge+, which sports a Snapdragon 865 processor, is the company’s current flagship in the United States.
