Rumor: Sony may be ending the Xperia Tablet series

In a decision that is sure to upset many of the fans Sony has left, it has been reported by a Sony store manager in Japan that the conglomerate may be ending the Xperia Tablet series. Dozens of websites – and even some stores – have now made mention of the story.

The origin of the speculation was apparently pending promotional material that reflected sales would be ending in early March. The caveat is that this apparently pertains to Wi-Fi only models, so in theory the cellular variants may still stick around.

The source responsible for the news also made note that any future tablet product is currently “pending” or “undecided” depending on how one wishes to translate the word “未定”. It is unclear as to if this refers strictly to Wi-Fi variants, or all of the company’s tablets in general.

What’s the cause for concern?

Before addressing the issue at large, it is important to consider the Japanese market in and of itself. Should this news pan out, it would come as a somewhat serious blow to Sony’s already limited selection of Android-based products on sale in the country. Unlike in outside Asian markets, as well as in Europe, many – if not all – of Sony’s low and mid range smartphones are not sold in Japan. This means the Xperia Tablet is a more prominent product when it comes to overall offerings.

In addition, while the idea of a Wi-Fi only model might not seem as important, it is relevant to point out that the Xperia Z Ultra was originally released in Japan as a Wi-Fi tablet, which was then later picked up by the country’s smallest major carrier, KDDI au and sold as a traditional phone like it was elsewhere.

The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact

Perhaps even more relevant and – somewhat – more recent, the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact was only released as a Wifi device in Japan, despite numerous Asian markets receiving it as a full blown cellular consideration. For explanations unknown, not a single carrier offered the mini’s mobile make.

Still, Sony’s tablets have consistently been sold at extremely high price points, with even the Z3 Tablet Compact selling for over $450 when it released here. The full-blown carrier models are even more expensive, usually retailing for around $800 when purchased at full price. This puts the Xperia Tablet brand in direct competition with Apple’s iPad. Apple in and of itself, almost always outsells Sony in Japan with respect to the mobile space, especially in recent years.

Meanwhile, similar products are often significantly cheaper. As Sony’s brand name value decreases over time for some, so too may the perceived benefit of spending such money for a tablet from the famous OEM. Another problem? When push comes to shove the differences between the Xperia Z2 Tablet and the Xperia Z4 Tablet, for example, may not be strong enough to justify the financial outlay for some.

What future may follow

The Xperia Z4 Tablet

Sony didn’t release a Z5 Tablet last year which came as a bit of a surprise given that there has been an Xperia Tablet released along side each of its major Z-series smartphone offerings. The Z5 of course, was released mere months after the Z4 (or Xperia Z3+ depending on the market’s naming convention) and it may have been decided that another tablet would be redundant.

Nonetheless, Fall 2015 would have been an excellent time to put out a follow-up to the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, however the opportunity was thus passed on.

The decision to terminate tablets – if true – may make more sense when considering a post on this subject by XperiaBlog.net which stated:

We know that tablets made just 5% of Sony Mobile’s revenues back in 2013 and that was expected to shrink even further. Given the R&D costs of developing and supporting new devices, Sony may feel that producing another tablet for 2016 might not be commercially viable.

It remains to be seen what exactly will transpire this year. A leak has already surfaced that purports to picture the Xperia Z6 smartphone, and the design is a dramatic departure from the more easily identifiable image the Z series has used since its inception.

Wrap up

Should Sony formally withdraw from the tablet marketplace, it will mean the end of a brand that many users loved, and the end of yet another high end tablet offering for customers to choose from.

We want to hear what you think about this situation. Would you care if Sony dropped its Xperia Tablet line, or are you a loyal fan who will deeply miss it? Be sure to take our survey below, and then leave your thoughts in the comments section so all can hear what you have to say!

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New Sony Xperia C6 render shows off bezel-less display, looks drop dead gorgeous

A high-quality render of Sony’s unannounced Xperia C6 smartphone has been released by a reliable tech leaker on Twitter. The Xperia C6, if the newly released render is to be believed, looks a lot like Xperia C5 Ultra, which was introduced back in mid-2015. Just like the C5 Ultra, the new Xperia C6 is expected to have a near bezel-less display, which would definitely help this device stand out from amongst the crowd.

See also: Bezel-less Sony Xperia C6 leaked ahead of MWC 201623

The new Sony Xperia C6 render was released by @OnLeaks, who says that the image was constructed based on the phone’s factory schematics. Not much else is known about the Xperia C6, but rumour has it that Sony’s upcoming device will run an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 chipset under its hood, clocked at a cool 2.0GHz. There’s another rumour which says that the Xperia C6 will have a 1080p resolution display, while the display size may be anywhere between 5- and 6-inches.

While we can’t say for sure, Sony might introduce the new Xperia C6 at MWC 2016, which kicks off on February 22nd in Barcelona. Several other players are also expected to make major announcements on the first day, like Samsung, who’s expected to announce the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge after Sony’s press conference. Alleged press renders of Samsung’s unannounced flagship devices were leaked not too long ago as well, so be sure to check those out before MWC kicks off. Stay tuned for the full coverage on all things relating to Android at MWC 2016!

Read next: Sony sends out its MWC 2016 invites9

Sony image sensor and smartphone sales take a hit

It’s no secret that Sony has been struggling to make a breakthrough in the smartphone market in the last year or so, but its slowing handset sales have previously been offset by its other stronger business segments. However, the company’s latest quarterly financial results reveal that even Sony’s historically strong image sensor division is feeling the strain from the competitive smartphone market.

Overall though, Sony is making more money this year, net profit grew 33 percent over the year to reach ¥120.1 billion ($1 billion). While sales revenue remained mostly flat at ¥2.58 trillion ($21.5 billion) for the quarter, operating profits grew by 11 percent to ¥202.1 billion ($1.69 billion), following some strong growth in the company’s gaming and movie divisions.

We’re most interested in Sony’s mobile unit, which didn’t perform quite so well in terms of sales. Revenue fell by 14.7 percent year-on-year, as a result of poor smartphone sales and a “strategic decision not to pursue scale”. It seems that the release of Sony’s latest Xperia Z5 flagship line has done little to improve the company’s struggling smartphone presence. Sony has been making major efforts to cut division costs though, both in the research and marketing department. As such, operating income increased from ¥10.4 billion ($86 million) to ¥24.1 billion ($199 million) over the year.

Perhaps more worryingly for Sony, sales revenue from its more lucrative image sensor business have also declined over the past year. Operating revenue from Sony’s device division, which includes the company’s battery and imaging components, fell by 12.6 percent year-on-year, as demand for smartphone sensor components dropped “significantly” in the quarter. Not only was this figure hurt by Sony’s falling smartphone shipments, but the company also saw sales to external customers drop by 7.5 percent. Sony’s Exmor range of image sensors had been proving popular with smartphone manufacturers around the world, especially in the high-end market.

See also: Sony closes $155 million purchase of Toshiba’s image sensor business5

Sony has also been pumping cash into additional research and development projects for image sensors and camera modules, in order to stay ahead of competition. Combined, this led the division to switch from a ¥53.8 billion ($445 million) profit in Q3 2014 to a ¥11.7 billion ($97 million) loss in the same quarter during 2015.

Other Sony divisions have fared much better, with PlayStation 4 gaming revenue up 10.5 percent and Sony Picture box office revenue increasing by 26.9 percent. However, Sony is yet another large electronics company struggling to eke out profits from the competitive smartphone market.