Overview
- CFOs Lin Tao and Sue Lin affirmed during August’s financial briefing that Xperia smartphones remain a “very important” business for Sony
- The company halted Xperia 1 VII sales in May after reports of random shutdowns and has since relaunched a free replacement scheme for affected units
- Xperia devices now represent roughly 1% of global smartphone shipments, with Sony marketing them as niche, premium handsets centered on advanced camera and communication features
- Production of Xperia phones has been outsourced to third-party manufacturers and smaller sub-lines like Xperia 5 and the expected Xperia 10 VII have been discontinued
- Despite earlier pullbacks from the U.S. and Europe, Sony plans additional Xperia releases leveraging its decades-old communication technology expertise