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Sony has seen a lot of success with its TVs, cameras, and other electronics. However, you rarely hear about Sony smartphones.
Clearly, Sony Mobile, the branch responsible for Sony phones, isn’t keeping up in the marketplace. But with such a big name, you are probably wondering: Why did Sony Mobile Fail? If you’d like to find out, keep reading!
Why Did Sony Mobile Fail in [currentyear]?
Sony mobile failed because it couldn’t keep up with its market competitors. Although Sony mobile started off strong in the early 2000s, the company has been on the decline as other companies expand. Sony phones are too expensive, lack the proper marketing and launching, and can’t keep up with innovation and user experience trends in [currentyear].
Sony hasn’t been successful in recent years, and for a good reason. Read on to understand what led to Sony’s failure in the U.S. compared to other smartphone brands!
1. High Price Tag
People pay high prices for iPhones and Apple products in general. Sony wanted to be the Apple of the Android world, offering premium phones for a fee.
However, the Android consumer base doesn’t have as much disposable income.
In a poll of the Xperia 1 III phone, over 75% of consumers said they felt the product was too expensive.
Furthermore, you can find the same quality Android phone for less, or get discounts through service providers.
Overall, there’s just not enough motivation to shell out the premium prices for a Sony phone. Cheaper options are available with comparable features.
2. It Couldn’t Compete With Apple’s User Experience
Sony phones have many great features that appeal to niche markets. Its camera settings are customizable, and it offers a high-definition viewing experience.
While these phones appeal to photographers, even the camera is comparable to other cell phone brands.
Overall, Sony smartphones don’t appeal to the general public.
They don’t have simple things that many consumers want, like night mode. Their interface is okay but still lags behind Apple’s in usability.
Additionally, Sony has strong hardware. However, users nowadays are more focused on software and want something customizable.
With all of Apple’s apps, it’s easy to find one you love, download it onto your phone, and customize it to your liking.
Overall, Sony may have a strong phone but lacks this flexibility in user experience that the general public wants and loves.
3. Weak Relationships With U.S. Service Providers
Sony is a Japanese company, and while the mobile carrier has seen some success in the Japanese market, it isn’t as popular with North American carriers.
One reason could be that Sony had a few odd clauses in their deal with a U.S. carrier. Also, Sony was prohibited from using its fingerprint scanning technology on U.S. phones.
Although the reasons aren’t entirely clear, it’s likely to impact sales.
In the United States, mobile plans are often tied to cell phone purchases. You can get discounts on mobile phones linked to the carrier when you purchase a cell phone plan.
While Apple has strong connections with carriers, Sony does not.
4. Poor Availability
Sony phones also don’t have excellent availability. When ordering a Sony phone online, they are often out of stock and back-ordered, so it might take several months to arrive at your doorstep.
When you can’t get a phone for that long, a newer model may have even been released. Because of this, consumers are less likely to leave reviews.
As well, weak relationships with service providers ultimately lead to less availability.
These carriers don’t carry Sony phones in their stores. In this way, poor availability leads to lower demand.
5. Lack of Marketing
Another reason people didn’t purchase Sony smartphones was because they didn’t know about them.
There needs to be sufficient marketing for consumers to hear about a product, and for marketing to succeed, Sony needs a loyal following and a target market– neither of which it has.
One key reason is that Sony doesn’t have anything that truly sets them apart from other brands.
Without this, it’s hard for Sony to market itself to consumers.
6. Poor Launching
Have you heard of a Sony smartphone launching event? If you answered no, you’re not alone.
How a phone’s sales do in the first week or so of being released indicates how it will do overall. When a phone comes out, there needs to be hype to spur sales.
Other companies announce events and build up scarcity tactics before releasing a new phone, and Sony is lacking in this department.
Launching announcements and events cause a rush to purchase the phone the week it’s released or even a waitlist.
People are excited about the new phone, spreading the word and creating even more demand.
So, because Sony doesn’t have strong launches, phones are released but die out quickly.
7. Not Enough Funding
Rather than invest more in sales and marketing, Sony mobile is cutting costs to increase profits. However, this feels like a short-term, survivalist strategy.
By cutting costs, Sony can’t invest as much into new innovation and marketing, which ultimately hurts the company’s smartphone sales.
8. Confusing Device Names
Although it might seem trivial, smartphone names matter, phone models need a catchy title to help create a buzz, so when phones have an easy name to remember, people can talk about it.
As new phone models come out, the names should also build on one another. For example, iPhones are easy to remember because they incorporate the brand name and use numbers.
With Sony phones, the names aren’t consistent. For instance, sometimes, the company will use a number and then switch to a letter.
Plus, some higher-numbered devices like the Xperia 10 aren’t as advanced as the Xperia 1, making the names anything but intuitive.
9. Lack of Innovation and Design Updates
Sony doesn’t keep up with smartphone innovation. Each newer model isn’t that different from the previous, leaving consumers little incentive to level up.
Also, Sony is slow to adapt to current smartphone trends. On the other hand, its competitors, LG, Samsung, and Apple, are always coming up with new designs.
So, while Sony is not innovative, they also aren’t following trends. Other companies are forging ahead while Sony is getting left in the dust.
To know more, you can also read our posts on Sony E Mount, Sony FE, and Sony Google TV.
Conclusion
Sony phones may have started off strong but couldn’t keep up with the competition. Ultimately, Sony has premium pricing but doesn’t have the user experience, innovation, or popularity to back it up.
Furthermore, Sony’s mobile marketing and launching are weak compared to its competitors. Without the right buzz behind a product, it’s hard to keep up in sales.
