In case you don’t know, Sony is still around in the smartphone market with timely releases every year. The brand that was once one of the most relevant among mobile devices, living its glorious days when HTC, LG, Samsung, and itself were some of the most relevant names in this field. It lost ground over the years for Chinese brands, but unlike some of its fellows, it is still around. However, it has been adopting some measures that perhaps, will reduce the use of its resources in this segment.
Sony Moves Manufacturing of High-End Xperia Phones to Third-Party OEMs
Sony already uses third-party manufacturers to produce its phones. This has been a strategy adopted for the mid-range smartphones so far. However, a new report indicates that the brand will now expand the strategy to its high-end devices.
According to a Japanese news outlet, this is not a temporary move. It is likely a long-term strategy. You can no longer find “smartphones” on the list at Sony’s production sites in Thailand. Historically, three manufacturing sites were involved in Sony’s smartphone production. Two are in Thailand and one is in China. None of them lists “smartphones” anymore. This means that the company is completely obliterating the smartphone production of its sites. This does not mean an end, as it is now relying on third-party OEMs for such a process.
We believe that Sony will continue to dictate the specs and design of its next smartphones. However, it will give the recipe to an OEM that will manufacture the devices accordingly.
The report also states that the Xperia 1 VII was the first phone to be assembled by a third-party manufacturer. Curiously, this could pass as an Xperia phone 100% made by Sony, as there aren’t compromises or major changes that indicate this isn’t made in Sony’s sites anymore. As we’ve said before, this, perhaps, is a cost-cutting measure.
We can’t go without mentioning that, despite not being the most popular Android smartphone maker out there, Sony still has a very important presence in this market thanks to its cameras. We don’t think this will change anytime soon.
