On May 10th, according to national media reports, in 2023, Sony's smartphones faced a severe setback in the Japanese market, with annual sales plummeting by 40% year-on-year, totaling only 1 million units.
Against the backdrop of total smartphone sales in Japan reaching 30 million units, Sony's market share has shrunk to 3%, losing its position as one of the top five smartphone brands in Japan.
Professor Jun Onishi from Waseda University in Japan pointed out that the camera software of Sony Xperia smartphones is positioned awkwardly, being too professional for the average consumer and not fully meeting the needs of technically savvy users. This could be one of the reasons for the declining sales.
Meanwhile, Google Pixel has seen a significant increase in popularity in the Japanese market. In July 2023, Japan became the largest market for Google Pixel, with sales of the Pixel series smartphones increasing by an astonishing 527% year-on-year.
According to previous messages, Sony plans to hold a new product launch event for Xperia on May 15th, where it is expected to introduce two new phones: Xperia 1 VI and Xperia 10 VI.
The Xperia 1 VI will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 processor, while the Xperia 10 VI will feature the Snapdragon 6 Gen1 processor. Both new devices will not adopt Sony's iconic 21:9 aspect ratio screen.
