Sony is reportedly scaling back its Xperia smartphone operations in Europe due to declining demand and technical issues that affected the launch of its latest flagship model, the Xperia 1 VII. The move includes a complete withdrawal from the Finnish market and a possible withdrawal from several other countries in the region.
The Xperia 1 VII model has been delayed globally after many users reported issues such as the device turning off on its own, failing to turn on, and unknown system glitches. Sony also confirmed that its smartphones in Europe will only be sold through its official online store and Amazon, while local distributors are no longer allowed to sell the devices.
According to reports, Sony only had around 3.5% of the global market share in the first quarter of 2024, far behind big brands such as Samsung and Apple. In Japan, Sony's smartphone sales reportedly fell by 40% in 2023, and no official figures have been published since. Furthermore, there is speculation that Sony has stopped producing smartphones in-house and has chosen to outsource the production process to third-party companies.
However, Sony insists that it will continue to meet all warranty and software update requirements for existing users. Sony also stated that market demand and profitability analysis will continue to be conducted to determine the effectiveness of Xperia phone sales in a given region. At this time, Sony has not officially confirmed the rumors of its withdrawal from the European market.