Sony’s lineup of Xperia flagship phones has had a tough go of it lately, but CFO Lin Tao says the Xperia line is “a very important business for us.”
“Communication technology is a very important technology that Sony has cultivated for a long time. We also want to continue to value our smartphone business,” Tao said during a recent earnings call, spotted by CNET Japan.
Sony’s Xperia 1 VII launched in May, but some users had power issues stemming from the circuit board. Tao used the earnings call to apologize to those customers for the problems with the device, the first flagship phone from Sony to be produced by a third party.
Sony didn’t bring its Xperia 1 VI or 1 VII devices to the US, and it skipped over some European markets. The company hasn’t publicly ruled out a US launch, but the radio silence when asked for information suggests Sony has no plans to launch its handset stateside.
According to sales data, Xperia sales are struggling. A May 2024 report from Bloomberg said the brand saw a 40% decline in sales in 2023 compared to 2022. At the time, an IDC analyst said Google’s Pixel lineup had taken a big chunk of Sony’s market.
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It’s unclear if that trend continued into 2024. The brand also didn’t release an Xperia 5 phone in 2024, which suggests it’s no longer catering to the midrange market. The last member of that lineup, the Xperia 5 V, came out in September 2023.
Sony phone fans will be reassured by the company’s comments in its earnings report, but it’s unclear where the brand will go next and whether we’ll see it continue with its flagship line or try something else in 2026.
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About James Peckham
Reporter
I’ve written tech news for over a decade, and as a Reporter at PCMag, I cover the latest developments across the gadgets and services you use every day. Previously, I worked for Android Police, TechRadar, and more.
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