Whilst not quite as long-standing as LG's dire run of loss-making quarters with its smartphone business, Sony has had its struggles in recent years. Amazing, Sony has shipped slightly fewer smartphones in the 12 months prior to March 31st, 2021 than it did the year before that, but somehow managed to make a profit.
It seems that Sony is just as amazed as we are because the performance is said to have exceeded its “initial expectations”. Sony sold 3.2 million units during 2019 and actually sold 300,000 fewer units in 2020 but thanks to efficiencies and making its smartphones more expensive, a profit was realized.
As you can see from the graph above (courtesy of Xperia Blog), Sony's share of the smartphone market has dropped significantly since its peak in 2013/2014 where it managed to ship 39.1 million units. In 2021, it's down to less than a tenth of that number which isn't great news, but at least Sony has made a profit this time around. Here's hoping that the Xperia 1 III performs well in terms of sales, and helps propel Sony back up the ladder when it eventually goes on sale later this year.
