Sony is struggling to maintain its mobile business afloat

May 24, 2015 09:47 GMT  ·  By

Sony is traversing a rough period while its smartphone business is concerned.

Last month, a report came in saying that the company expects to see revenue for the remaining period of 2015 and the first three months of 2016 drop with 7.1% when compared to last year.

Sony for its part has really been trying to make things work. The company already launched an impressive number of handsets this year, including the Xperia Z4 flagship.

The phone will be offered only on the Japanese market, but even so, it didn’t seem like the world was missing out on a lot.

That’s because the Xperia Z4 is largely the Xperia Z3 unchanged coming with three major improvements: the new Snapdragon 810 processor, 32GB of internal storage and an improved 5.1MP selfie camera.

Basically Sony failed to deliver the incentive needed for people to upgrade from the previous flagship, or even from the Xperia Z2.

Instead it offered the usual Xperia design and bundled it with the specs most flagships today take advantage of. Which translates into nothing worth seeing here, folks.

A clean break might be good for Sony

While the Xperia Z4 will be offered only in Japan, Sony is also looking to launch an international version towards the end of May. Which raises a question. Should Sony use the occasion and rebrand the international-friendly Xperia Z4? A fresh start might help the Japanese company rise into markets which have failed to notice its products, up until now.

The rumor mill claims Sony plans to completely redesign its next-gen flagship, so maybe the international version of the Xperia Z4 will look a lot different from the Japanese model.

We have seen a bezeless Xperia phone leak online not so long ago, so I have to wonder if this isn’t the direction Sony is going towards. After all bezeless smartphones are becoming the norm today.

That’s why I think it would be a perfect time for Sony to regroup and rebrand its Xperia handset. And with a new look in tow,  it might be a lot easier for consumers to associate Sony’s name to it.

Sony has been having a hard time becoming a top player in the US smartphone market because its devices are just extremely hard to find. T-Mobile has been the place to go to if you wanted a Sony phone, but other carriers like Verizon only recently joined the party.

Hence, American customers are yet to become familiar with Sony phones, so at this point Sony launching a rebranded Xperia Z4 or Xpera Z5 in the States might not draw much attention.

It’s possible that US mobile enthusiasts associate the Xperia brand with being hard to get, so that’s why rebrand might come extremely in handy. That and an extended partnership with most major carriers across the country.

Sony should also put a thought or two into marketing strategies, if it wants to make it in the country. But a rebrand is pretty audacious way of doing things and Sony will probably not risk it.

However, being able to sell its next-gen Xperia flagship through all major carriers in the country is must for Sony.