Back when Sony was rumoured to be exiting the smartphone business, the CEO and president of Sony Mobile, Hiroki Totoki, made it very clear that the company “will never ever sell or exit from the current mobile business.” Now, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
The chief executive of Sony, Kazuo Hirai, had this to say:
We will continue with the business as long as we are on track with the scenario of breaking even next year onwards…otherwise, we haven’t eliminated the consideration of alternative options.
Based on what Hirai has said, Sony’s mobile division will have to step up its game in 2016. It will have to be profitable (or break-even, at the very least), in order to stay in business. While Hirai didn’t elaborate what the “alternative options” are, it’s highly likely that selling off the division is part of the options.
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The Sony Xperia Z5 lineup.
It’s no secret that Sony is struggling in the mobile space. The fact that all of its latest devices seem to share the same design with their predecessors probably didn’t help either. In terms of market share, Sony only holds less than 1% in the US. It’s not doing so well in its home country of Japan either, with only 17.5% of market share.
Needless to say, the Sony Xperia Z5 lineup has to be successful for the sake of the company’s mobile division. It would be a shame to see Sony exit the smartphone business, considering how its devices have been really well-made, such as the excellent Xperia Z3.
(Source: Reuters via Android Authority)
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