I knew they weren't selling much these days, but damn their market share has dropped significantly since 2013/14. Still, this looks really good and I'd consider buying one if I needed a new phone.
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Why Don't People Buy Sony Smartphones? (MKBHD)
- Thread starter Deleted member 4262
- Start date
The price to performance ratio makes them not worth it when cheaper phones perform better. Sony makes the best camera lenses, but the picture quality is still behind other competitors. For $1200 the Xperia 1 II should have incredible pics...and they're just average.
Yeah I've never seen the appeal for anyone who isn't a camera nerd (90% of which would probably prefer to buy a DSLR). Sony used to be the only game in town when it came to water resistance and had cool experimental stuff like the Xperia Play, but that's all in the past unfortunately.
I have an Xperia 1 and I don't know why you would buy an Xperia phone if you don't want a 21:9 screen.
I do buy Sony smart phones have done for years, think the last non Sony phone I got was Google's first smart phone. Always liked Sony phones even before the smartphone days, my favourite was the W950. Sony phones are always a little different to everything else on the market which appeals to me.
OP
OP
I had the Xperia Z2, which was really good at the time. Prolly one of my fave phones.
Shit, you're right. I just checked the price here in Norway and it's $1300. Oof.
I'm in the US and I wonder if part of it is that they aren't sold directly by carriers under their monthly installment plans* which might be how most people are choosing their phones. You can buy them unlocked at retailers though.
* = tbh I only really checked Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T.
They've never had good or consistent carrier support in the US so it's basically made them a nonstarter here for the last 10 years.
This too. If you aren't in a store in the US then you're basically forced to appeal to enthusiasts.
I bought an Xperia Z several years ago and I will never buy a Sony phone again, despite loving everything else Sony produces.
Reasons:
-Software is garbage. Sony's UI is trash on the phone and it would often hang or crash, I lost all the photos I took on the phone because the drive corrupted somehow. I should've put a standard Android version or something on it but I'm not a software genius.
-The thing got hot as fuck. Probably related to the software issues.
Positives:
Sony makes beautiful and pleasurable to hold hardware.
Reasons:
-Software is garbage. Sony's UI is trash on the phone and it would often hang or crash, I lost all the photos I took on the phone because the drive corrupted somehow. I should've put a standard Android version or something on it but I'm not a software genius.
-The thing got hot as fuck. Probably related to the software issues.
Positives:
Sony makes beautiful and pleasurable to hold hardware.
My last phone was a Sony Z3, and I enjoyed it well enough, but as others have said their phones are just too expensive for what they offer.
OP
OP
my thoughts:
sony ericsons were shoddy and damaged the brand
they focus on the wrong priorities (4k displays, long ass candy bar phones)
the sharp edged hyper square physical design aesthetic isn't that appealing
people seem to prefer notches/holepunches to thinker top and bottom bezels
they had an overopinionated skin (maybe this has changed)
no high refresh rates
sony ericsons were shoddy and damaged the brand
they focus on the wrong priorities (4k displays, long ass candy bar phones)
the sharp edged hyper square physical design aesthetic isn't that appealing
people seem to prefer notches/holepunches to thinker top and bottom bezels
they had an overopinionated skin (maybe this has changed)
no high refresh rates
I've stuck with Sony phones for several devices and I doubt I'll switch to another brand any time soon. Just don't really feel the need to.
I don't think Sony's brand image can handle being low or even medium priced. But if they did a truly compact phone at a low to midrange price (Pixel a range?) they could carve out a niche. Nobody makes small phones.
Z3 Compact has been my favorite phone by far. I would use it today if it were a little faster and the camera worked better on open source firmware.
Z3 Compact has been my favorite phone by far. I would use it today if it were a little faster and the camera worked better on open source firmware.
This. I've been with Verizon for years. Every time an article pops up about a Sony phone I definitely consider it over Samsung, and then when it's time to buy I discover Sony isn't making phones for Verizon. I'm sure I could buy an unlocked one and blah blah blah but at that price it's no longer in consideration vs the latest Galaxy or Pixel.
Lots of answers, but the answer is painfully obvious
For flagship phones that cost $500+, I suspect the vaaaast majority of owners do so via a monthly carrier plan.
For whatever reason, I am unaware of any carrier offering a Sony (in the US at least), unlike back in 2010ish when I believe some Xperia phones were still offered (last one may have been the Xperia Play).
Outside carriers... either you go for the niche ultra high end, or the contract free mid range where all the chinese brands compete...
For flagship phones that cost $500+, I suspect the vaaaast majority of owners do so via a monthly carrier plan.
For whatever reason, I am unaware of any carrier offering a Sony (in the US at least), unlike back in 2010ish when I believe some Xperia phones were still offered (last one may have been the Xperia Play).
Outside carriers... either you go for the niche ultra high end, or the contract free mid range where all the chinese brands compete...
Yeah, I can buy a Galaxy S10 for 425$ on a monthly plan of 15$ a month or I can spend 1000 on a sony unlocked......... Not really much of a choice.
This plays a major part.
In regards to T-Mobile, there's network compatibility issues too. The Xperia I ii (dumb naming scheme aside) lacks T-Mobile's 600mhz band (71), which is the backbone of their 5G low band network.
If Sony did a better job of marketing their phones, got them into US stores and had better network support, they'd sell better.
Been exclusively getting Sony phones for about 7 years now i think.
They make some really nice phones and price wise it has made no difference since I'm in the UK and it's just a contract deal.
Currently have the Xperia 1(2) and it's very nice. Only thing I miss is having the finger print reader on the back like my last one as it felt really natural to unlock and I had far less errors with it reading it than I currently do.
They make some really nice phones and price wise it has made no difference since I'm in the UK and it's just a contract deal.
Currently have the Xperia 1(2) and it's very nice. Only thing I miss is having the finger print reader on the back like my last one as it felt really natural to unlock and I had far less errors with it reading it than I currently do.
I bought the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact in 2014 I believe, and it was the worst piece of shit phone I ever purchased. The processing quality was abysmal. I was happy when I smashed it by accident in 2015, which gave me an excuse to buy another phone.
