The next Xperia flagship phones will be announced at the MWC 2018. The Mobile World Congress is still happening in Barcelona, Spain this coming February and we’re excited as to what new smartphone will make an impression. Last year, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium was awarded as the “Best New Smartphone at MWC 2017”. We’re curious to know if this year’s Xperia phone offering will be as impressive.
Sony Mobile has just confirmed that it’s joining MWC 2018. It will hold a press conference on February 26, Monday, at 8:30 CET. The company is expected to unveil new Xperia smartphones, smart TVs, and other smart appliances. We’re guessing Sony will join the smart speaker and smart display bandwagon but there’s no related hint or announcement yet.
Sony will be live streaming the press event so don’t worry if you can’t join. We’ll be watching with you, taking note whatever Sony will surprise us with. The brand already launched three mid-range phones during the CES so we’re assuming MWC will be the launching pad for its premium phones such as the next-gen Xperia XZ Premium.
It seems Sony is doing well in the mobile business. If you may remember, we’ve been watching the brand because a couple of years ago, it noted 2016 would be its make-or-break year in the mobile business. Well, it’s still churning out new phones so we know it’s thriving. Sony CEO Kaz Hirai proudly exclaimed his job to revive pride in the company has paid off so far. However, he isn’t ready for a victory lap yet. He and his team tried to bring the company around and so far, so good.
By allowing more personalization as an approach, Sony tried to establish an emotional connection with the consumers. The result was loyalty and enthusiasm. The CEO tried to apply Kando once more to every business unit. It’s a Japanese concept that is about having emotional value. Hirai said, “Sony products need to have functional and emotional value.Anybody can provide functional value in this commoditized space, but emotional value is something that has been part of the Sony design philosophy, part of the Sony DNA since the company started 71 years ago. We kind of lost it for a while, and my job has been to revive that pride in what we do in terms of providing emotional value.”
When it comes to the mobile business, Sony is still in the process of restructuring. Hirai hopes to change and show profits instead of losses. The CEO took over the company and is doing major changes. Fortunately, results are positive with a projection of 20% increase in profits from the previous year.
Hirai added: “The reason we’re doing that is not that we think smartphones are the future, but because we have to have some devices connected to a network in order to communicate. If we get out of the communications space, we won’t have the opportunity to play in the next paradigm shift.”
Sony is open to technology and Hirao isn’t complacent with the good news so he and the rest of the company will continue to work hard, innovate, and be more sustainable from this year and beyond.
VIA: XPERIA Mobile, The Guardian
