When it comes to smartphones, it is safe to say that despite all their features, Sony’s smartphones has not been as popular compared to other companies like Samsung and HTC, or even new players from China like Xiaomi, Huawei. Heck, even the startup OnePlus has been generating more buzz and hype than Sony in the past year or so.
We have heard reports in the past that Sony could be considering selling off its smartphone business and if you’re wondering how true those rumors are, they have been sort of confirmed by Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai. This is according to a report from Reuters in which Hirai stated that the smartphone division basically had a year to break even, otherwise they could be looking at other options.
Hirai was quoted as saying, “We will continue with the business as long as we are on track with the scenario of breaking even next year onwards. Otherwise, we haven’t eliminated the consideration of alternative options.” He was not specific on what the “alternative options’ were, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they were to sell it off.
Previously we had seen Sony sell off divisions that weren’t doing so well. Back in 2014, the company sold off their VAIO computer division to an investment firm in Japan, so we wouldn’t be surprised if their smartphone division could be given the same treatment. In any case hopefully 2016 will be a better year for Sony, otherwise it looks like we could be losing another player in the smartphone industry.
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