It could be the beginning of the end for yet another known phone brand.
Sony earlier detailed its mid-term plans for all of its business, and its keynote confirmed that it has indeed quietly withdrawn from the smartphone market of some countries and regions, as we’ve known but couldn’t confirm for quite some time.
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These “defocused” markets, as Sony refers to them, include the Philippines, India, Australia, Canada, South America, Mexico, Africa, and the Middle East. So yeah, basically, most of the world. And while Xperia smartphones will probably still be sold in the Philippines and other locations where Sony products are also officially available, don’t count on seeing any new phone models anytime soon.
The Japanese manufacturer will continue its handset operations in Japan, Europe, Taiwan, and Hong Kong and focus on just these four markets in the immediate future, while trying to reach profitability by 2020.
Sony smartphone business: Non-focus and defocused regions are colored red (via Xperia Blog)
Since reports came out confirming the bleak future of Sony’s smartphone efforts, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida has reiterated the firm’s commitment to mobile devices — albeit in limited capacity. He added that Sony considers smartphones “as hardware for entertainment and a component necessary to make our hardware brand sustainable.”
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The last Xperia device listed and sold in the Philippines was the Snapdragon 845-based Sony Xperia XZ2 at P43,990 (around $838). It was released mid-2018.
This news is a shame for Sony fans, whose best option now is the gray market — assuming they haven’t been swayed by another phone maker already.
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