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End of an era: Sony kills the Xperia Z range

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F

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
New thread for new news.

Per Xperia Blog.

“The Xperia Z line has reached its culmination – Xperia X series represents a new chapter and evolution of our product strategy. Whilst the Xperia Z series was all about bringing the best of Sony’s advanced technologies to smartphones, Xperia X series is based on bringing smart, adaptive Sony user experiences across camera, battery performance and hardware / software design.”
Click to expand...

While I think the Xperia Z range had become woefully uncompetitive and feature poor at their exorbitant price range (and good Lord, did I hate the way they would explode into shards after the smallest bump), it was always nice to have a flagship with a battery that wouldn't die in a day.

Having toyed around with the new Xperia X range at the MWC, they are not a proper replacement for the Xperia Z in any shape or form. It looks to me that Sony has finally given up on the premium market and they are now focusing on the increasingly crowded €/$300 space, which is ripe with highly competive "flagship killers" offering a lot of bang for the buck. I wonder if Sony will be able to thrive there; if Xiaomi fixes their IP problems and starts releasing their phones overseas, it's game over for them and probably other manufacturers.
 
Chuckie

Chuckie

Member
I owned the Z2 Compact and Z5 Compact and I both liked them. The Z2 got 'destroyed' by an Android update though. That was fucked up.
 
H

HazySaiyan

Banned
Funky Papa said:
Having toyed around with the new Xperia X range at the MWC, they are not a proper replacement for the Xperia Z in any shape or form. It looks to me that Sony has finally given up on the premium market and they are now focusing on the increasingly crowded €/$300 space, which is ripe with highly competive "flagship killers" offering a lot of bang for the buck.
Click to expand...

It's a shame that they're not pricing them that way then. Sony are shooting themselves in the foot yet again.
 
F

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Umibozu said:
I don't know who to believe.


This link says it's not: https://www.androidpit.com/xperia-x-series-will-not-replace-xperia-z6
Click to expand...

PR speak. AndroidPit should know better than to fall for it. Notice how the head of marketing doesn't talk about a new Xperia Z at all.

"The Z series is not going away" only means "we will continue to sell and support the current Xperia Z range". And then they will drop it like a bad habit.

HazySaiyan said:
It's a shame that they're not pricing them that way then. Sony are shooting themselves in the foot yet again.
Click to expand...
Yeah, they are going to get rolled over unless they nail the rest of their strategy. The X Perfomance is priced like a flagship but lacks all the flair from the Z range. It is going to be a very tough sell.
 
S

Spenny

Member
Well shit. Was planning on ditching my iPhone 6 for a Z6 this year. I'm guessing they'll never release another 4K phone since they're going mid-range. Bummer.
 
…

……forgetit

Member
Yeah, I had a feeling this was coming. The Z range was very strange with it's bi-yearly release schedule. The phones will live on in spirit I'm sure, but re-branding happens I guess.
 
O

outunderthestars

Banned
I dont think I have ever seen anyone using a Z series smartphone. They just always seem to launch them too late in the US with terrible carrier support. :(
 
I

Irminsul

Member
I very recently replaced the battery in may Xperia ZL. Yes, that's three years and six generations old, but apart from sometimes being a bit on the slow side it's a very nice phone. 5", 1080p and 2 GB RAM aren't that bad even nowadays, and it still is the phone with the best screen-to-body ratio there is.
 
H

HazySaiyan

Banned
Funky Papa said:
PR speak. AndroidPit should know better than to fall for it. Notice how the head of marketing doesn't talk about a new Xperia Z at all.

"The Z series is not going away" only means "we will continue to sell and support the current Xperia Z range". And then they will drop it like a bad habit.


Yeah, they are going to get rolled over unless they nail the rest of their strategy. The X Perfomance is priced like a flagship but lacks all the flair from the Z range. It is going to be a very tough sell.
Click to expand...
Not only that, but it's just specced lower than a lot of its competition. It has less RAM than the S7 and G5, and has a lower resolution screen. Now it might not make that much of difference in real world performance, but people still want to feel like they're getting their money's worth.

And €600 for the Xperia X is insane if true. You could just get one of last year's flagships and it'd cost you less.
 
C

CecilRousso

Member
My only xperience with the Xperia Z range, is my own Z3 Compact, and I've been less then impressed with it. It's been really buggy, more then any other smartphone I've owned, and while it has improved lately, it still has some. And the build quality of it hasn't been that good either.

Going to check out the X range, but I might also go Samsung when I change the next time.
 
B

Baconsaurus Rex

Member
Viewing this on my Z3 Compact. Great phone until the glass backplate shattered after dropping it from an inch high. A couple of months later the headphone jack stopped working. My sister who is a bit less gentle with her electronic devices had her backplate shatter twice, the flap that protects the micro usb port and sd card has been torn off and as of yesterday the top half of the touch screen does not work anymore. Great line of phones nonetheless.
 
B

Bluekaveli

Member
Well I never see their phones at any kiosks other than when Cingular was a thing. They make great phones but don't offer them to all the carriers.
 
M

Macnair

Member
They killed it without releasing another Z Ultra. My ZU is now one of a kind... I guess my next phone is a Nexus 6P.
 
O

Oemenia

Banned
Aren't their phones popular in Japan? Besides the XPERIA XP will continue the high-end models.

I have a Z5 and it's a great phone, not as good as the S6 but excellent otherwise.
 
H

Henrar

Member
Funky Papa said:
New thread for new news.

Per Xperia Blog.

Having toyed around with the new Xperia X range at the MWC, they are not a proper replacement for the Xperia Z in any shape or form.
Click to expand...

Xperia X Perfomance is the replacement for Z5. It has Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM, full-metal body and it's waterproof, 5-inch 1080p display with 2,5D glass and 23 MPix back/13MPix front cameras.

But the problem is, Sony won't release that in UK or Germany. They will never learn.
 
Z

Zepp Twofist

Member
I have no problem with them doing a mid range phone with good battery capacity. In fact, that is my preferred segment. But I do wish they would make phones smaller than 5". I think my Z1C has the perfect size, but for some reason everyone wants to carry around a flat screen TV in their pockets.
 
N

nabe_shogun

Member
Futureman said:
People in the US reading this news are like, "Huh? Sony makes smartphones?"
Click to expand...

Pretty much. Before I bought my phone I wanted to look at a sony xperia as well, but like no one even had them.

I also want to get the latest Z5, but I don't think it works on verizon.
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
Baconsaurus Rex said:
Viewing this on my Z3 Compact. Great phone until the glass backplate shattered after dropping it from an inch high. A couple of months later the headphone jack stopped working. My sister who is a bit less gentle with her electronic devices had her backplate shatter twice, the flap that protects the micro usb port and sd card has been torn off and as of yesterday the top half of the touch screen does not work anymore. Great line of phones nonetheless.
Click to expand...

I've had this issue with my Z3c as well. Great phone but the glass on the front and back is waaay too delicate.
 
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