14 DAY TRIAL // Sony revealed during the company’s Investor Relations Day that it intends to drop the line of Premium Standard smartphones in order to focus on two new flagship smartphones that should arrive during IFA later this year.
The company revealed its plans for the rest of the year and mentioned that it’s now discontinuing a category of smartphones that have been part of the lineup for years, according to XperiaBlog. Apparently, Sony will no longer sell Premium Standard smartphones, devices related to the Xperia X and Xperia X Compact which were released last year. Thus, consumers shouldn’t expect successors to the two phones to arrive this year.
In addition, Sony intends to announce two new flagship smartphones in the second half of 2017, devices that will fall into the same category as the Xperia XZ Premium and Xperia XZs. Still, Sony isn’t giving up on smartphones in its mid-range series, like the Xperia XA1, XA1 Ultra and L1.
Sony is focusing primarily on Europe and Asia, not the US
The reason why Sony intends to focus on phones with “high value-added” is related to sales of Premium Standard devices, which managed to achieve just 31% of their original sales targets outside Japan. Thus, from a financial point of view, it makes sense for Sony to ditch underperforming lines of phones and focus on the ones that record high sales and bring brand notoriety.
Still, the high-end segment of Android smartphones is quite competitive, with the likes of Samsung, LG and Huawei bringing in high sales. Sony intends to place its primary focus on markets like Japan, East Asia, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Europe, places where it can leverage its brand strength.
Regarding the US, Sony wishes to increase its smartphone sales, but the company also acknowledges that it requires huge investment to do so. Still, Sony’s strategy is to increase its share by providing differentiated smartphones to meet the needs of multiple categories of consumers. The situation is quite different in India, a market where low-end smartphones are doing quite well.