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Sony once again considers leaving the mobile market if new Xperia phones fail to sell
By David Curry — October 7, 2015

Rumors that Sony may leave the mobile market have been ongoing for years, as the Japanese electronics manufacturer struggles to turn a profit in the competitive industry.

Earlier in the year, Sony chief executive Kazuo Hirai denounced the rumors, stating the company was in the mobile business for the long haul, but this week Hirai changed his tone. He said that if the mobile unit is not profitable by the end of 2016, Sony may consider “other options,” reports Reuters.

Hirai claims Sony is on track to break even next year and should start posting profits, but in the event of a decline in sales, things could change. He didn’t give any potential scenarios, but a sale of the mobile business would be the most likely outcome.

Sony sold its PC unit to Japanese Industrial Partners last year for an undisclosed amount. JIP has since launched several products under the Vaio name, including a smartphone, but none of those products have launched outside of Japan.

In other markets, Sony has progressed much faster under Hirai’s new leadership. It has become a leader in image sensors, the PS4 is a massive success, and other electronics sectors continue to show decent performance. The mobile unit is the big non-factor for Sony, as it continues to lose money building new phones every six months. The latest range of phones do take a different approach — the Xperia Z5 focuses on the camera and the Z5 Premium offers the first 4K display — but it might not be enough to win over customers in the West.

Sony currently has a dismal 15 percent hold on its home market in Japan, with Apple surging at more than 50 percent. In the United States, Sony has a measly one percent, fitting in with the other struggling mobile operators like BlackBerry and HTC.

It will take a lot of work for Sony to achieve a strong position in the mobile market, considering the amount of money Apple and Samsung spend on advertising in the U.S. and Europe. The Xperia Z5 has one of the best cameras, a super long battery life, and impressive internals, but it doesn’t offer anything new or exciting to break away from the pack of Android operators that are trying to remain relevant.

source:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/[....]sony-may-quit-mobile-business/


related:
Sony’s Smartphone Division Is Close To Being Axed
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2015[....]ision-axed/?utm_source=mainrss

Sony may consider options for smartphone business if no profit next year
http://www.reuters.com/articl[....]rtphones-idUSKCN0S10WR20151007

Sony sets 2016 deadline for turning around its smartphone sales
http://pocketnow.com/2015/10/07/sony-smartphone-sales-2


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Posted: 2015-10-08 07:13:10
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They seem to be very pesimist. The new Xperia phones could keep them afloat this year. Specially the Z5 Premium.
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Posted: 2015-10-08 13:51:28
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Android is a wasteland of sameness. The only thing that gets me interested is better specs-per-dollar. I don't care about support, I don't care about Google spyware. I don't care about manufacturer customisations. I care about rooting the device so I can get rid of most of the spyware. I care about getting the maximum bang for buck. I don't care about brand posturing or design that is just different for the sake of being different.

In the past Sony made great and unique hardware. It's a shame they decided to just do what everyone else is doing (a few exceptions aside). Most of the phones share similar looks and features.

Doing what everyone else is doing and just hoping your brand will make it is silly. We are in a commodity-era of smartphones and tablets. Most phones are "good enough" and people have increasingly less reason to upgrade.

My prediction is Sony will exit out of the market eventually. They are virtually unseen. Sony want to sell us software these days; that was clear so many years go. Movies, Music & Games.



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Posted: 2015-12-27 06:30:12
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I must say, the Xperia Z5 Premium hasn't panned out the way I expected, the promotion has been poor at best. They are sleeping on their own great potential.

They really are unseen and its a shame as the Z5 series really are amongst the best Androids released this year in terms of a complete package, I'd say the Z5 Compact, Z5 and Z5 Premium are each easily the top or in the top 3 in their respective categories, but Sony marketing is super poor.

They need to reevaluate the marketing agencies they use and/or who they have employed internally in terms of their Brand Directors and Marketing Directors, across the board.

If the Snapdragon 820 delivers the goods, then 2016 should be Sony's year. The GPU in the 820 is beastly and by the sounds of it the whole SoC is generally a whole lot more efficient.
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Posted: 2015-12-27 22:48:41
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Why are we bringing up a 2 month old thread when Sony has already stated rebuilding their mobile device devision and even dedicating $1billion to a factor for building smartphones long after this october 2015 report.
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Posted: 2015-12-30 15:54:13
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I agree with Tsepz_GP . In spite of even being a SONY fan, I dint know the Z5 was officially launched in India. 0 promotion by SONY! How do they expect to sell the device then?

Anyway, if SONY shuts shop and I expect HTC will follow the same..we are only left with SAMSUNG as the major manufacturer right?
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Posted: 2015-12-31 14:57:32
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So, the topic is dead: hopefully, that`s been rumors and nothing more than that. Hopefully - because Sony, despite being a middle-class device with a moderate quality, still carried out its functions and could serve its owner for 4-5 years. I have changed loads of devices in my life, and can`t say recall anything which left me disappointed with Sony.
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Posted: 2016-04-15 22:38:19
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The reason is sony hasn't released a single good model in years
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Posted: 2019-12-27 10:49:32
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