LG shut down its mobile business in 2021, officially ending a lengthy competition with its closest rival, Samsung, and leaving a prototype rollable phone behind for employees to buy as a commemorative piece. Now, reports from Korea say Samsung will build LG's next phone for the AI era.
LG's mobile division may be gone, but that doesn't mean the company has severed all its ties with the mobile market. LG still runs one of the largest mobile networks in South Korea, LG Uplus, and earlier this month, it launched its AI-powered call assistant service, ixi-O.
Even though LG no longer builds phones, reports from Korea (via KED Global) say LG Uplus wants new mobile hardware designed for ixi-O from the ground up. That's where Samsung will supposedly come into play next year.
Galaxy ixi-O phone could be coming in 2025
Samsung and LG Uplus have reportedly struck a deal for a “real AI phone.” It will be built by Samsung exclusively for LG Uplus and combine the capabilities of Samsung's clever Galaxy AI with LG Uplus' ixi-O technology.
Supposedly, this “real AI phone” will be built from the ground up by Samsung to be perfectly optimized for LG's new AI. The phone's name is unknown, but the media tentatively calls it the Galaxy ixi-O, indicating that it could be sold by Samsung under its Galaxy brand on the LG Uplus network.
While this device will remain exclusive to Korea and the LG Uplus network, reports say that Samsung could develop other AI phones in collaboration with mobile carriers who may want to pursue a similar strategy as LG Uplus.
