Sony is currently optimistic about its prospects

Oct 8, 2015 12:29 GMT  ·  By

Sony’s mobile business has been going through a tough period and the release of this year’s Xperia Z3+ (or Xperia Z4 in some markets) didn’t help things stabilize.

Still, the company regrouped fast enough, and during IFA 2015 this September, it unveiled not one but three smartphones, including the Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, and Xperia Z5 Premium.

But even with a promising lineup like this one, there are still concerns whether or not Sony’s mobile division will be able to keep itself afloat for long. Rumors that the Japanese company might be looking to apply some drastic measures to its mobile business have been floating around ever since earlier this year.

Back then, Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai was heard saying that he was prepared to take some drastic measures in order to keep the company going. Fast forward some months and Sony has set next year as a deadline to decide whether its mobile business is worth saving or not.

Sony has been experiencing troubles with many of its sub-businesses

Once upon a time, Sony used to preside over the VAIO laptop division, but since things didn’t go well in terms of sales, the company sold it off to a Japanese company. Another business Sony had to step out of was that centering on eReaders. In the US, Sony abruptly pulled out of the market, leaving Kobo in charge of the wellbeing of users still holding on to their products.

Once a sweetheart of the mobile world, Sony has seen its market share drop considerably, while fierce competition coming from other Android giants like Samsung or Huawei has prevented it from keeping a viable presence in the game.

But lately things seem to be looking up for Sony. The Xperia Z5 family appears to have been well received, even though we have already seen reports that the Snapdragon 810-powered Xperia Z5 Compact is experiencing some overheating issues.

Nevertheless, Sony is doing some things right. For example, the company was one of the first to announce which of its models are poised to be getting the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update.

What’s more, the device maker also announced the Marshmallow-based “Concept for Android” initiative, which is targeted at 10,000 owners of Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact users in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, UK, Ireland and Germany.