Does Sony Need To Change Its Strategy With Xperia?
Over two years ago I bought my first Sony phone since the Sony Ericsson W580 Walkman and that phone was the Xperia 5 mk. ii. The year before this Sony released a trio of phones that signalled a complete change in direction going forward. The Xperia 1, 5 and 10 were a response to the fact that Sony’s smartphone sales had declined massively and instead of trying to compete head to head with the likes of Samsung and Apple, Sony decided that they would niche down and aim their devices at the core Sony fans, content creators and enthusiasts of their Alpha camera line. Alongside this reduction in models Sony also exited many markets to focus on the ones where they are still selling a decent number of units, which would help to keep the division profitable.
This strategy has paid off and they are indeed profitable. Of course Sony don’t sell anywhere near the number of Xperia units that they used to in the brands glory days and this seems to be something many use as evidence that Xperia is “failing”, without any mention of the fact that this is intentional. Many comparisons are drawn to LG’s mobile business for example. LG had declining sales in a very similar way to Sony but instead of changing their business model they decided to just shut the business entirely, even though they made some great phones. Sony I think are slowly folding the Xperia brand into being a part of their Alpha camera line-up. At the time of me writing this it’s a year since Sony said themselves that smartphone cameras will make high end DSLR’s obsolete over the coming years and I believe that’s how they are positioning their products. They’re the leader in cameras and they need to be ready for that switch over.
The issue for Sony right now; and this was similar for LG, is that their phones are so different to everything else on the market and focused on such a niche audience. Sony even more so, but YouTubers and reviewers in general often review them in the same way and in the same myopic view as they would an iPhone or Galaxy. So essentially all of the pro features of these devices are often looked at extremely briefly, scoffed at as though nobody cares, or just not mentioned at all. This of course leads to poor reviews. YouTubers with large followings constantly saying something just isn’t good on the basis of not doing things the way they’re used to turns people away from even looking at a product in the first place. This is damaging to a brand long term, as much as they claim that it isn’t.
Let’s put it this way. Say there’s a YouTuber reviewing cars. You usually review hatchbacks. Every so often you’re asked to review a pickup truck and you say “Well the pickup truck is too big compared to the hatchback, it’s slower at 0–60mph and uses more fuel, so stick to the hatchback”, do you think that would be a fair review when you’ve mentioned nothing in regards to the utility provided by a pickup truck? No you’d think that was a bad review, yet we let this fly in the tech space and we the consumers end up being worse off for it.
Before people call for Sony to change strategy with Xperia they first need to acknowledge that Sony has already changed strategy. Once they acknowledge this fact then maybe they can use and review the products based on their intended use, not just wanting them to be like everything else they already use. Maybe then we can start to see a more diverse mobile sector that serves people based on their needs and that doesn’t want to force everyone to conform. I do hope that this materialises, but unfortunately it seems that conformity is in fashion…
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