It is a page that turns without much crash, in the deafening silence of a market that does not forgive anything. Sony, this Japanese giant that we no longer present, seems to have signed the death certificate of his smartphone division in Europe. The Xperia range, formerly a flagship of innovation and symbol of a certain idea of technology, gradually fades from our regions, victim of fierce competition and a strategy that may have become too singular.
Signs of withdrawal that do not deceive
The rumors of a decline have been circulating for years, but the facts are now there, stubborn and relentless. The first Domino fell in Finland, where the brand officially ceased the distribution of its phones, as it confirmed to the local media suomimobii. Elsewhere in Europe, the show is barely more delightful. Whether on French, German or British official sites, the same message is displayed: “unavailable” or “stock breaking”. The brand new flagship, the Xperia 1 VII, will not even have had time to seduce, his European career being stillborn.
More than just logistical adjustment, the whole European structure collapses. The dedicated subsidiary, Sony Mobile Communications AB, has been dissolved, and national web portals now redirect to an impersonal global site. Europe no longer seems to be a priority for the Japanese manufacturer and this hemorrhage is not limited to the old continent.
A deeper evil: from Japan to the United States
In the United States, smartphones have simply disappeared from the brand’s official site, but the most painful camouflet may come on its own soil. In Japan, Sony no longer belongs to the top 5 manufacturers, seeing its sales fall by 40 % in 2023, as Bloomberg recalls. The company was notably swept by Apple’s domination and, more recently, by the meteoric popularity of Google Pixel, who have seduced local consumers.
To top it all, the launch of Xperia 1 VII was tainted by serious reliability problems, forcing Sony to temporarily suspend sales in Japan following critical bugs causing untimely restarts. The brand image, so dear to the firm, took a hit.
UFO’s strategy: too expensive a singularity paid?
However, Sony had arguments and in a world of clones, the Xperia was a UFO. By maintaining the jack and the microSD card port, for example, vestiges of a time that those under twenty years old cannot know, the brand was addressed to a niche of purists. By integrating the know-how of her photo (Alpha) and Audio (Walkman) divisions, she promised a multimedia experience without compromise.
But at what Price? At almost 1500 euros, the Xperia 1 VII launched a ring where heavy goods vehicles like the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Ultra Samsung Galaxy S25 leave only crumbs. By wanting to be unique, Sony may have cut itself off from the general public, offering an expert apparatus, complex and expensive, where competitors bet on simplicity and tariff aggressiveness.
While Sony refocus on its queen divisions, the PlayStation and the photo sensors that it ironically provides all its competitors, the Xperia adventure seems to be coming to an end. Like BlackBerry, LG or HTC before him, Sony could soon join the cemetery of the Landy Telephone Giants. The end of an era, certainly.
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