Sony’s latest phone may be the first flagship Xperia not produced directly by the company. A new report suggests Sony has stepped back from smartphone manufacturing.
Japanese website Sumaho Digest reports that Sony removed the word “smartphones” from websites for its manufacturing processes in China and Thailand in mid-May, possibly before the launch of its latest phone.
This likely means Sony has moved production of its new Xperia 1 VII to a third-party manufacturing partner, which it’s already done for its midrange phones in recent years.
The Xperia 1 VII arrives at the end of June, so it’s difficult to know if the build quality has changed compared to products made in-house. GSMArena and Stuff both have reviews of the phone, and neither of them remarked on any major changes to the build quality.
Moving production to a third party may allow Sony to cut costs since manufacturers will likely have a larger-scale operation. Sony Xperia handsets are some of the most expensive Android phones, but this move doesn’t appear to have changed the price for the Xperia 1 VII; it’s even more expensive than previous iterations.
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The Xperia 1 VII is coming to the UK, where it will cost £1,399; £100 more than the Xperia 1 VI. Sony hasn’t shared any details for a US release; the brand skipped the market for its last flagship phone. If it does launch stateside, we’d expect it to cost at least $1,500.
PCMag has asked Sony for clarification on its new production partners and whether there will be a US release for the Xperia 1 VII.
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