Sony, formerly one of the big names in mobile phones, is facing the end of its smartphone business in several countries in a tighter and more competitive market. While Sony is still strong in gaming consoles, cameras, and televisions, its mobile division has been struggling. According to reports, Sony is winding down mobile operations in the UK, and has already closed up shop in other English-speaking countries including India.

Sony first moved into mobile phones in 1992 with its `Mars Bar´ phone. In the 2000s, they started Sony Ericsson, a collaboration with Ericsson, producing stylish and compact 2G phones that took the market by storm and were tackling major competitors, Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung. At its peak, Sony commanded up to 9% of the global mobile market but has fallen far from there. Today, Sony accounts for less than 1%.

According to a Sunsar report, Sony is preparing to stop sales of mobile phones in the UK. At a glance on its website, we see nearly all Xperia smartphone models are out of stock. This follows a trend as Sony has been closing in on several English-speaking countries after making the move out of India altogether.

In the UK, its smartphone market

The camera on Sony’s Xperia smartphones is of excellent quality and thus Sony stands as a top-tier camera sensor supplier for several brands. Despite this, Xperia smartphones have not been able to convince many people to part with their money because of the high price of Xperia smartphones and strong competitors.

Currently in the world of smartphones, Apple and Samsung hold the majority at the premium tier. Samsung is still in the lead, with a 20.1% global share, while Apple has moved quickly to second with 19.5%. Lesser known Chinese brands such as Xiaomi (13.9%), Oppo (7.8%), and Vivo (7.5%) stare at giant slices of the market pie, especially in emerging markets like India. As a collective, these five companies command nearly 70% of the total smartphone market share, which nearly eliminates any chance of older brands like Sony from making an impact.

Of course, Sony is not unique in its decline in mobile business. In recent years, the mobile phone market has witnessed closure or departure from well-known brands, including LG, HTC, and Blackberry. Motorola, which was sold to Lenovo, seems to be one of the big surprises, as it has done quite well to re established itself in select markets. Meanwhile, rumors about an HTC and Blackberry comeback endure.

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While Sony has yet to publish a formal announcement stating it is leaving the smartphone business for good, the signals are unmistakable. As competition heats up and its sales continue to decline, it appears Sony Mobile may soon be history.

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