What’s Wrong With Sony Xperia Smartphones (And Five Ways to Fix It!)

You might be thinking, “Okay, the guy’s a fan, obviously, so what?” The thing is, if you ask me right now whether or not you should put your hard-earned cash into an Xperia phone, the answer will be “Hell no!” How did it come? Today, I’ll share my perspective on what’s wrong with Sony Xperia phones and what the Japanese company can do to fix it.

A special device: The days of the geek are over, Sony!

The world has moved on to simplicity, and weirdos like me who like to tinker with things are now in the minority. Our modern reality is so complex and dense with information that we simply cannot allocate the necessary resources to learn how a Pro camera mode works on a smartphone.

We want devices to do this for us. Apple realized this in 2007, but Sony somehow doesn’t admit it to this day. Sony has tried to offer Xperia phones to semi-professionals and professionals, content creators and photography enthusiasts, but these people often buy serious high-end devices for the simplest reasons. The price.

How much, again?

Which brings us to the ridiculous prices Sony has been asking for Xperia phones in the past couple of years. The Xperia 1 IV launched at $1,599 in 2022 and, surprisingly, didn’t sell well. You can buy a classic Sony Alpha 6400 workhorse camera paired with an 18–50mm prime lens for less money. Brand new. The other frustrating thing is that Xperia prices usually drop like crazy just a few months after the initial release. Hello, Sony! What are you doing? I fail to understand the logic behind this. “We’re going to launch the phone at a super expensive price and drop 30% in two months.”

Does not work! At that time, people had already forgotten the telephone. We live in the era of 30-second TikTok videos. Which brings us to another ingenious marketing solution.

Here is our new phone. You can’t buy it for the next two months

The first three generations of Xperia flagships were announced three or four months before they were available on the market. The worst case was with the Xperia 1 Mark III, announced in April and available in August. Again, what the hell, Sony? Are we placing an order to have a samurai sword forged because it takes just as much time? It reminded me of the time we had to wait years for a dirty Russian car during my dark communist regime past.

It doesn’t help that no US carrier offers Xperia phones, as the memory has served since the Z3. I can’t say whether this is due to negotiations between said operators and Sony or some technical difficulties. All I’m saying is that most people buy their phones with a plan and often buy the new model when they renew their contract.

Great device, poor user experience

And when the phone arrives, all the bragging about innovation and flagship hardware falls by the wayside. Because it rarely works without problems. The phone heats up, restarts itself, the side-mounted fingerprint locks itself, and sometimes the proximity sensor, which turns off the screen when you talk on the phone, gets annoying. I don’t want this to turn into a monumental joke. Do not misunderstand me. I like the continuous zoom, it’s a great innovation. I like side-mounted capacitive fingerprint scanners and I like screens without a notch or notch. Sony needs to get things right though. To the point of perfection. The Japanese way! It’s a terrible feeling to have spent $1000 on a phone that feels Beta.

And to be fair to Sony, the company is trying. The new Xperia 1 VI has a camera app, much simpler than the pro-grade software suite on previous Xperia phones, which, let’s be honest, less than 0.1% of users would ever use.

What can be done?

However, there is a glimmer of hope. I think there are a few things that can save the Xperia phones and let them escape LG’s fate.

• The price must be lowered! This is non-negotiable. If the Xperia 1 is priced around or under $1,000, many people will consider switching and trying out all of its cool features. The smaller Xperia 5 could be a great alternative at $699.

• Notify your phone when it’s ready! Another must. The big reveal should happen no more than a week or two before the phone is available.

• Make a deal with a carrier! I know it’s hard and Sony might lose money on this, but in the long run, it’s the right move. Otherwise, Xperia will forever remain a separate brand.

• Sony UI. This may sound controversial, as many people praise the Android experience, but hear me out. By inventing its own UI, Sony could not only create a unique and memorable software experience, but also spend some time making sure everything works. Adjust software and hardware so they run smoothly.

• Show Xperia devices as “phones for everyone”. Not just creators. Let the Xperia be the Swiss Army Knife of do-it-all phones. With its headphone jack, microSD card slot and powerful camera system, it’s more than qualified for the job.

So there you have it. I still love Sony and feel passionate about the brand, but it pains me deeply to have a pile of Xperia devices in my drawer while using a regular, ordinary iPhone.