Sony Mobile

Official Sony Xperia X, XA, and X Performance Pricing for Europe Revealed

by Sohrab Osati | May 4, 2016 | 1 comment
Sohrab Osati

Sony has officially revealed their pricing guide for the Xperia X family which consists of the Xperia X, Xperia XA, and Xperia X Performance. When pricing for the Xperia X Performance was first revealed, many of you were unsurprised, albeit much to your dismay, that it carried with it a high price tag. With the pricing of the entire family now revealed for each European county, we finally have a better sense of how Sony plans to position each device.

However, it’s worth noting that the pricing you’ll find below is not the price you’ll likely play. As an example, despite the Xperia X carrying an €599 MSRP, you can pre-order it on Amazon for €499. The same will ultimately be true for the Xperia XA and Xperia X Performance. The side effect of Sony’s strategy of releasing products at higher MSRP, only to let different outlets set their own price (which is something they also do with their electronics division as well but not PlayStation for example) is that it doesn’t allow Sony Mobile to set the narrative for their products when it comes to pricing.

Sony already faces the image of having products that are pricier than competitors, even though that might not hold true in an actual retail environment, and their high MSRPs play into that narrative. On the other hand, with PlayStation 4, there is a set price and everybody going into it knows what to expect. Sure there might be some varying bundles and deals, especially around the holiday season, but as it stands, PS4 is $349 and was $399 when it launched.

But when your about-to-be-launched device can vary in price by €100 depending on where you visit, it not only plays into the mentioned narrative, but also creates confusion for the consumer who must now do their homework before making a purchase. Mind you that we’re not talking about promotions or rebates here either. Sony can’t stop Amazon or Carphone Warehouse if they want to further incentivize shoppers with bundles but what they can do is set out a clear message on what their devices cost and not let that be dictated by retailers.

Pricing detail after the jump.

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Sony Xperia XA Ad – It’s Like Getting an Engagement Ring? On a Bus…?

by Sohrab Osati | May 4, 2016 | 2 comments
Sohrab Osati

Sony Xperia XA Ad

I’ve often argued that one of the biggest challenges facing Sony is their lack of advertisement and that they make some fantastic hardware, only to forget to tell others that it exists. The launch of the upcoming Xperia X family, which consists of the Xperia X, XA, and XA Performance, will be a pinnacle moment for the company. Not only is the new lineup here to replace the Z5 family, but it’s also the first time Sony’s had a chance to build a new phone from the ground up in some time. Gone are any ties to a predecessor as engineers were allowed to craft something from scratch and hopefully set the foundation for Sony Mobile going forward.

Luckily for us, Sony has heard the cry and put together an ad for the Xperia XA. Unlike other videos we’ve posted which are meant to boast a device’s technical prowess, this 30 second spot is a full on ad – but one that frankly makes me yearn for the good old days when Sony didn’t make ads for their devices. I simply cannot tell you how terrible and dry this ad is. It’s as if everybody got together in a board room, somebody asked “what makes people feel touchy wutchy” and somebody yelled out “a engagement!” because they were just engaged, and the meeting was adjourned. From there, the ad team put together the most empty shelled take on engagements while shoving a product in there to sell. What was ultimately created was the ad you’ll soon see.

I’m reminded of a scene from the upcoming Ghostbusters trailer (which is from Sony Pictures) where Leslie Jones is forced to slap a ghost out of Melissa McCarthy, yelling “the power of pain compels you.” It’s just that Sony is Melissa and I’m Leslie.

The Power of Pain

I cannot tell you by how much this ad misses the mark by feeling emotionless, clunky, and dry. Oh yea, and there is something about a phone in it too. The Sony Xperia XA ad is after the jump.

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Sony Xperia X Performance Price & Release Date Set, Not Cheap

by Sohrab Osati | May 3, 2016 | 12 comments
Sohrab Osati

Those wanting to get their hands on the best smartphone Sony has to offer will need to wait till early July at which point they’ll need to hand over a potentially hefty lump sum of cash. Besides an early July timeframe, Sony has officially priced the Xperia X Performance and it’s not cheap. Currently, MSRP sits at €699 though curiously, the high-priced phone will be skipping two of Europe’s wealthiest countries, UK and Germany, when it launches. No word yet on why the Xperia X Performance won’t be arriving in those two countries, though it is something that was announced a long time ago.

From there, pricing can vary a bit depending on the country, but it’s worth noting that Sony has also officially priced the Xperia X at €599 but you can pre-order it on Amazon for €499. If previous patterns hold true, don’t be surprised if most retailers offer the Performance variant for €599 which is what many had anticipated. Compared to the Xperia X, the Xperia X Performance offers a faster Snapdragon 820 processor, a brushed metal back for a more premium feel and is dust- and water-resistant with IP65/IP68 certification.

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Sony Q1 2016 Earnings – Gaming & Media Up, Electronics Flat, and Components Down

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 29, 2016 | 4 comments
Sohrab Osati

(As always, keep in mind that these charts are fairly wide and created in very high resolution so simply click on them to enlarge)

The more I look at Sony’s Q4 FY15 earnings report which comprises of how they did in Q1 2016, the more hopeful and cautious I am of the company. In short, I find the direction Kaz Hirai is pursuing to be the correct one for Sony at the time. The question which remains is if Sony can execute his vision at a quick enough pace and transition to the next phase which is being a more lean and robust company with hopefully better selling devices on the market. That is outside of PlayStation which continues to do gangbuster numbers. Otherwise for Sony, it’s a tale of lower sales but higher profits, thanks to their more premium lineup which offers better margins.

If you look at the above chart, you’ll notice that excluding entertainment endeavors which in my mind comprises of PlayStation, Sony Pictures, and Sony Music, most of Sony’s electronic businesses were down compared to a year ago’s quarter. I’ve already discussed in length what’s been happening at Sony Mobile which you can read about here. However as the chart below shows, despite a drop in sales, Sony’s prospects on each division is improving, including their troubled mobile division. In fact Sony has posted a 666.5% rise in pretax profit for its full fiscal year.

Across nearly all core electronics business, Sony has seen a rise in operating income, even if they’re still posting negative numbers. The reason Financial Services dipped is mostly due to stock market volatility which has been in full affect the entire year. As Sony put it:

 Increases in the amortization of deferred insurance acquisition costs and the provision of policy reserves, primarily driven by a significant decrease in interest rates and the deterioration in the stock market 

For comparison, Apple each quarter has ‘lost’ more money due to currency volatility than companies like Facebook actually make. Context is king, right? Otherwise, as I said earlier, it seems like most of Sony’s businesses are humming right along the path set out by Kaz. However, let’s not forget about the elephant in the room – that division right in the middle – Devices. As you can see, compared to a year ago’s quarter, Devices is down ¥75.3 billion. It’s as if that division fell off of a cliff. For those unaware, Devices comprises mostly of Sony’s semiconductor business which supplies companies like Apple and Samsung things like batteries and camera sensors. According to Sony, the large negative number is in part due to:

Deterioration in the operating results of the camera module business

Deterioration in the operating results of the battery business

Increases in depreciation and amortization expenses as well as in research and development expenses

I’ve heard from a little birdie that Sony may have lost a major customer which could lend credence to the dramatic drop. Otherwise it’s hard to equate their reasonings and that number but for now, all we have is Sony’s vague statement on the matter. For those wondering what percentage of the company each division of Sony comprises, wonder no more with the chart below.

Way more details on each division from the Sony Q1 2016 earnings report after the jump.

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Sony F3216 & F3311 Model Numbers Point to New Low Mid-range Phones

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 29, 2016 | 6 comments
Sohrab Osati

Likely_Sony_Xperia_C6_Ultra_3

With the Xperia X and Xperia XA priced (at least by Amazon, anyway) and their launch nears, Sony might be slowly turning its attention towards more volume-driven devices as the Xperia X represents the company’s flagship line.

Sony may have some new handsets on the horizon targeting the lower mid-range. Two new model numbers have been revealed by the GFXBench benchmark, outing the Sony F3216 and F3311. Both devices are armed with MediaTek chipsets and one of them has a 16MP front-facing camera, which probably means this is the Xperia C series successor.

Sony hasn’t made it a secret that their primary goal is to turn their mobile division profitable before scaling for volume again. With a new factory dedicated to their own smartphones, Sony may finally be getting ready to add a bit more volume to its lineup as its units shipped have slipped quarter after quarter.

Earlier this month, pictures leaked (as can be seen above) which appeared to depict the successor to the Xperia C. With the F3216 & F3311 specs (which can be found after the jump), we might finally be able to put the two together to form a better picture of what’s to come.

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Sony Mobile Sales Continue to Slide, Ships 3.4 Million Units in Q1 2016

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2016 | 4 comments
Sohrab Osati

Earlier today, Sony released their preliminary Q4 FY15 earnings reports which translates to Q1 2016 results. As a whole, Sony has come a long way compared to five years ago. Under Kaz Hirai, Sony has been able to make PlayStation a money making machine, stop the bleeding in home entertainment and sound while turning a profit, and put together a very lucrative ‘devices’ division which is in charge of all the company’s semiconductor components which mainly supplies rivals Apple and Samsung.

Mobile, on the other hand, continues to be a struggle for Sony as seen by the chart above which depicts their Q1 2015 and 2016 sales. I’ve previously written a fairly extensive piece on why Sony Mobile is actually faring much better than all Android makers, including Samsung in some ways. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend reading that piece in order to put today’s numbers into better context. As Sony noted in their filing, they’ve seen an:

 improvement in the product mix of smartphones, reflecting an increased focus on high value-added models 

This has allowed Sony to enjoy a much higher ASP than its rivals and resulted in the division slowly turning things around from a financial standpoint. For the year, mobile will be recording an operating loss of ¥61.4 billion ($544 million) which is 57% higher than they had predicted a year ago. However, compared to the previous year’s ¥217.6 billion loss, it’s hard not to see things improving for Sony, even if it’s not evident when you look at their sales chart below which shows a significant year-over-year decline.

Again, note that this is from a financial standpoint. I know many of you might not immediately see Sony Mobile’s outlook improving and that’s because their focus is more wiping out losses from previous years and putting the division on an even footing before scaling again. We’ve seen others like HTC and LG attempt to regain marketshare without the financial discipline which – while from a consumer standpoint can be enticing as they’ve released all kinds of phones – has only decimated both companies financially as they dig deeper and deeper in the red. For Sony it’s clear: right the ship first, even if it means shrinking down their marketshare significantly and then begin to explore options of growing the division.

Way more analysis and charts on Sony Mobile after the jump.

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Sony Profits Up 666% While Revenue Slightly Dips by 1.2%

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2016 | 0 comments
Sohrab Osati

Sony_HQ_Rain_2

It’s earnings time again and as a whole, things are going well for Sony as evident by the:

 666.5% rise in pretax profit for its full fiscal year 

This can be mainly attributed to the strong performance of PS4 and Sony’s ability to cut costs within its mobile division. All of this has led to:

 income before taxes for the year ending March 31 came in at 304.5 billion yen ($2.81 billion), a big rise from the 39.7 billion yen recorded during the same period last year. Operating profit rose 329.2% to 294.2 billion yen, its largest figure since fiscal 2007 

Looking at things more closely, mobile is still a business that’s struggling for Sony but losses did narrow to:

 61.4 billion yen from 217.6 billion in fiscal 2015 

Ultimately that operating loss of ¥61.4 billion ($544 million) was 57.4% bigger than the company predicted a year ago but that’s mainly due to Sony choosing profits over scale which has also led to a revenue dip of 20% compared to the year prior. Kazuo Hirai:

 If it means that we’re selling less number of phones going out the door. We’re fine with that so long as we have a profitable business, and we’re really on our way to being profitable in that regard 

Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight is more optimistic about Sony Mobile’s future. While what he has to say isn’t wrong; it’s up to Sony to be able to capitalize on future opportunities, especially now that they’re more lean than years past and the division hasn’t shown the same foresight as PlayStation to garner the benefit of the doubt. Ben Wood:

 Sony Mobile has embarked on some aggressive cost reduction over the last 12 months. This has seen it exit markets such as China, India and the U.S. as well as reducing its headcount. Now the business unit has more stable financial position to build on as it looks to driving a return to growth 

It’s no secret that gaming continues to become a more critical division of Sony and PlayStation did little to disappoint. Operating income for the Games division rose 84.3% to to ¥88.7 billion ($785 million) and an 11.8% improvement in sales. Both software and hardware sales for PS4 were up year-over-year which is helping offset the predictable decline of PS3 sales. PlayStation VR will also go on sale later this year but I’m doubtful first year sales will have a large impact on the bottom line as larger consumer interest in VR has yet to be determined and it’s unclear how profitable each VR headset is for Sony. However, if VR does take off, Sony is well positioned.

More after the jump.

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Sony Xperia X & Xperia XA Pre-order Prices Drop on Amazon

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 27, 2016 | 1 comment
Sohrab Osati

Earlier this week, pre-orders for the Sony Xperia X and Xperia XA went live on Amazon UK. At the time, the two phones were priced at £549 and £279 respectively. While the Xperia XA pricing seemed in line with expectations and the phone’s features, the Xperia X pricing felt off.

In fact I noted then that the pricing for the Xperia X was more in line with flagship pricing that the Xperia X Performance should receive and was priced above 2016 flagship phones from Samsung, LG, and HTC. Whether this was simply a mistake by Amazon or a change of heart from Sony is unclear but both phones have since been reduced in price, making them a far easier buy once released this summer.

After the jump, pricing awaits you.

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Android 6.0 Marshmallow (23.5.A.0.570) Finally Comes to Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 26, 2016 | 0 comments
Sohrab Osati

Sony_Xperia_Z3_Tablet_Compact_2

Sony has been playing a bit of a dancing game with its tablets and Marshmallow. First, the Android 6.0 build arrived on the Xperia Z4 Tablet (which makes sense) but skipped the Z3 and arrived on the Xperia Z2 Tablet. Now Sony has finally released Android 6.0 Marshmallow (23.5.A.0.570) on the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact.

Luckily, the release widely covers the Z3 tablet family which includes LTE models (SGP621, SGP641) and Wi-Fi only editions (SGP611, SGP612). As per usual, while the update is live via OTA, it’s hit or miss depending on your region. So if you’re looking to get the update for your Z3 Tablet Compact or other Xperia devices as soon as possible, I’d recommend downloading the free Mac/PC Companion Manager which tends to have updates faster than OTA.

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Sony Xperia X & Xperia XA Prices Revealed?

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 25, 2016 | 4 comments
Sohrab Osati

On the heels of learning when the two new smartphones from Sony would launch, I’ve now learned about their pricing. According to Amazon UK, the new phones will be priced as such:

  • Xperia X – £549
  • Xperia XA – £279

Starting with the latter of the two phones, the pricing makes sense. This roughly puts the Xperia XA, a high-end mid-range phone at a $299 – which if ever released in the US would be $100 cheaper than the recently launched iPhone SE. While the price range does put the Xperia XA in a hyper competitive field, it allows Sony to be more in range with its competitors and the eventual price drop, and more near term promotions will make the phone accessible to a far wider demographic.

If Sony can market the Xperia XA and allow the phone to be widely available, they should be able to achieve a level of success (read: volume) they haven’t attained in some time. However, with the Xperia X, things get a bit more tricky. More on that after the jump.

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Sony Xperia X and Xperia XA Release Date Revealed?

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 25, 2016 | 0 comments
Sohrab Osati


Thanks to Amazon UK, we now know when the Sony Xperia X and Xperia XA (pictured above) are likely to arrive. I say likely because it’s never official till announced by Sony but things are looking fairly definitive. According to Amazon UK, the two phones will be released on:

  • Xperia X – May 23rd
  • Xperia XA – June 6th

We’ve previously heard a summer time frame and this puts both phones squarely in that range albeit sooner than I had thought.

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Try Android N Developer Preview for Xperia Z3

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 21, 2016 | 0 comments
Sohrab Osati

Android N

Despite still rolling out Marshmallow, Sony is beginning to prepare for Android N (please let it be Nutella).

 Now you can get your apps ready for Android N using Xperia Z3. Sony is working with Google to bring you the N Developer Preview on selected Xperia Z3 devices. 

Specifically, Sony wants you to use the

 N Developer Preview to test your apps with new system behaviors for saving power and memory. Extend your apps with new features such as multi-window UI, direct reply notifications and more. 

Let’s just hope that this is a sign that Sony plans on being even more aggressive with their Android N rollout. It’s also curious that they’re testing it on Xperia Z3 devices and not Xperia Z5 though that could be due to the numbers of Z3s in the wild vs. the newer Z5. So what’s new with Android N? Details after the jump.

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Sony Xperia X Performance to Offer HDR Display?

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 20, 2016 | 7 comments
Sohrab Osati

If these rumors pan out, there might be a good reason to wait till summer. Apparently, the soon-to-be flagship Sony Xperia X Performance will offer an HDR display, a first in smartphones.

 An HDR screen would mean crazy rich colors that are more vibrant. According to Phone Radar’s source, the Xperia X Premium will sport a 10-bit HDR display that can show 1,024 shades of the primary red, green and blue (RGB) colors. That’s a nice upgrade over the usual 256 RGB hues that other screens offer. 

But that’s not all; in addition to an HDR display which would allow the phone to reach deep blacks and bright whites, the phone’s screen will supposedly be twice as bright as competitors.

 The leak also suggests that the purported Xperia X Premium’s panel would offer a scorching “1,000 nits of white brightness” and can even go up to 1,300 nits at maximum. Our current smartphone average is 437 nits, and the Galaxy S7 Edge notched 530 nits on our light meter. 

All of this sounds crazy at face value but besides making HDR televisions, Sony was also the first manufacturer to make a 4K display smartphone (the Xperia Z5 Premium) so I wouldn’t put it past them. Of course, just because you can build it doesn’t mean you should. Would an HDR display be nice on a mobile device? Yea, I guess, but seeing how those Facebook vids and YouTube series barely pass muster for 1080p which is what’s mostly consumed on a phone versus a Netflix series like Marco Polo, I’m not sure having a display like that will really matter. Now, on a tablet? Sign me up.

Update:

I’ve mistakenly called the Xperia X Performance (correct in the title) the X Premium in the article which I’ve since fixed. However, the original source does call it the Xperia X Premium which either means there will be another model announced by Sony or they are also mistakenly typing Premium for Performance like I had.

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Battery STAMINA Mode Already Back for Some Xperia Z4 and Z5 Owners

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 19, 2016 | 3 comments
Sohrab Osati

Battery_STAMINA_Mode_JapaneseIt’s been less than a week since we first heard about Battery STAMINA Mode returning to Xperia models running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and some owners are already reporting the return of the feature. Specifically:

 firmware build number 32.1.F.1.38 is currently live on the Xperia Z5 (SO-01H), Xperia Z5 Compact (SO-02H) and Xperia Z5 Premium (SO-03H) 

The update is currently limited to devices running on NTT DoCoMo and also includes the Xperia Z4 (SO-03G). Though no specific timetable has been given for its return, all devices running Marshmallow are expected to get Battery STAMINA Mode back with future updates.

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Sony Xperia Z5 Gets a Price Cut in UK

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 19, 2016 | 5 comments
Sohrab Osati

Sony_Xperia_Z5_GB_Price_Cut

The flagship Sony Xperia Z5 just got a bit cheaper in the UK.

From what I’ve gathered, this isn’t a temporary sale and instead the new pricing for the Z5. Sony could be looking to move more units as summer approaches which is when the Xperia X family is set to arrive. More about the deal after the jump.

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