Earlier this month, we learned that Samsung is planning to offer fewer smartphones in 2015 in an effort to reduce its costs. Now another firm has pledged to do the same thing.
Sony has said that it will reduce the number of smartphone models that it offers in the future, especially when it comes to lower-end models and those offered in Europe and Asia. Hiroki Totoki, head of Sony’s mobile division, explained that Sony will also focus on a “limited range” of markets, which includes cutting back in China and looking at how much it should focus on the U.S.
All of this is part of Sony’s effort to return its mobile business to profitability. Sony previously said that it had wanted to become the third-largest smartphone maker in the world behind Samsung and Apple, but now it believes that that goal was too ambitious, and that it now just wants to make the division profitable.
Sony’s mobile efforts have been getting better lately, with both the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact earning quite a bit of praise. We’ve also seen Sony step up its availability in the U.S. However, other companies have been doing the same things, with the likes of LG, HTC and Samsung offering quality Android devices on all carriers. Sony’s decision to cut back on its smartphone offerings to return to profitability might be a good idea, but hopefully it doesn’t result in greatly reduced availability of its high-end hardware in markets like the U.S.
