Sony Has Reportedly Stopped Manufacturing Its Own Xperia Phones

Despite never being a major player, Sony has continued producing its Xperia smartphone lineup for years now, but the company has reportedly decided to stop manufacturing those devices for itself.

A report out of Japan (via GSMArena) highlights that Sony has removed “smartphones” from its manufacturing-focused websites in Thailand and China. These sites used to list smartphones among their production tasks, but they’ve quietly been removed in recent months.

So, does that mean Xperia is dead?

Seemingly no. The report goes on to mention that the Sony Xperia 1 VII, which launched earlier this month, is apparently being manufactured with the help of a third-party company instead of being handled by Sony’s in-house teams.

Sony has been making its mid-range devices through third-party makers for a while now, but this shift brings high-end devices into that same bucket and seemingly closes the book on Sony manufacturing its own Xperia phones. It’s a change that admittedly makes sense, especially as it could potentially help Sony drive down the prices on its flagship phones. But, for now, that doesn’t seem to be changing as the Xperia 1 VII still costs £1,399.