As we look forward to the launch of the ROG Phone 7 series on April 13, the gaming smartphone segment as a whole has suffered a loss with the news that Lenovo is shutting down its Legion mobile phone business. Having launched its last product (the Y90) in March last year Lenovo has confirmed that it's closing the unit down as “part of a wider business transformation and gaming portfolio consolidation”.
The confirmation was issued to Android Authority after a comment on social media revealed reported that Lenovo had shut the gaming smartphone unit down.
“Lenovo is discontinuing its Android-based Legion mobile gaming phones as part of a wider business transformation and gaming portfolio consolidation. As a leader in gaming devices and solutions, Lenovo is committed to advancing the gaming category across form factors, as well as focusing on where it can bring the most value to the global gaming community.”
Seemingly also in the doldrums is Xiaomi's Black Shark line where hundreds of workers have been laid off, which basically leaves the gaming smartphone segment with Asus's ROG Phone series and the Red Magic series which is produced by Nubia/ZTE.
Why is the gaming smartphone segment in the doldrums? Well, other than the addition of shoulder triggers and snazzy designs with RGB lighting, it's difficult to differentiate them from premium flagships in terms of hardware, especially when gaming smartphones tend to noticeably lack in the camera department. Software and updates are areas where gaming smartphones are also lacking, both in terms of frequency and quality.
…and nothing of value was lost.