More services getting discontinued as Sony’s mobile business continues to sink

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Sony’s mobile business division continues to dwindle, as the company has announced further streamlining of its Xperia services.

It’s no secret that Sony has been struggling in the last few years and is no longer the behemoth it used to be. In the third quarter of 2019, it sold only about 6,00,000 smartphones globally, much lower than its already-readjusted sales forecasts. Simply put, Sony Xperia smartphones haven’t been selling as well as the company had previously anticipated and is thus a loss-making sector of business. The Sony Xperia 1 and the slew of other 21:9 smartphones evidently weren’t enough to initiate a turnaround.

It’s already in the process of scaling back its mobile-related operations, exiting markets such as the US and India. In hopes of further cutting down operating expenses, Sony has announced that it will be shutting down some of its proprietary services, which were explicitly designed for Xperia devices. Changes will come into effect in the coming months.

The Sony Email app will no longer be supported on Xperia devices, for devices starting from the Sony Xperia 5 and later. It will not be available on the Google Playstore either.

The Software update newsletter, which is emailed to users when new software updates are available on Sony Xperia devices, will also be discontinued starting December 16, 2019. Users will be directly notified of new updates directly on their devices.

Also facing the axe is the support for Backups(powered by Amazon) in the Sony Albums app. This functionality will be dropped on March 31, 2020, in a new update that will arrive. Even if users choose not to update their gallery app, the Amazon Backup feature will no longer work.

It’s disheartening to see Sony slowly die in the competitive smartphone landscape. There are quite a few reasons for this downfall — lack of innovation, non-competitive pricing, no focus on growing markets, etc. It will be interesting to see what Sony's mobile division has planned for the coming months in hopes of survival.

TOPICS
Aakash Jhaveri

Aakash is the engine that keeps TechRadar India running, using his experience and ideas to help consumers get to the right products via reviews, buying guides and explainers. Apart from phones, computers and cameras, he is obsessed with electric vehicles.

Latest in Phones
The iPhone 16 Pro on a grey background
iPhone 17 Pro tipped to get 8K video recording – but I want these 3 video features instead
Google Pixel 9 on blue background with big savings text overlay
Forget Amazon, the best Pixel 9 deal is at Mint Mobile today - get $400 off without an annoying trade-in
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display the January 22, 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge colors seemingly revealed in new video, and there’s another sign of an imminent launch
Apple iPhone 16 Pro REVIEW
The iPhone 17 Air looks impressively slim in this new comparison image, but that just makes me more worried about the specs
Two Android phones on a green and blue background showing Google Messages
Google Messages just added a fun upgrade to one of its best chat features
Samsung Galaxy S25 on a blue deals background
Bored with your iPhone? The ‘incredible’ Samsung Galaxy S25 just hit a record-low price in the Amazon Spring Sale
Latest in News
Hisense U8 series TV on wall in living room
Hisense announces 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, with screen sizes up to 100 inches – and a surprising smart TV switch
Nintendo Music teaser art
Nintendo Music expands its library with songs from Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Tetris
An image of Pro-Ject's Flatten it closed and opened
Pro-Ject’s new vinyl flattener will fix any warped LPs you inadvertently buy on Record Store Day
The iPhone 16 Pro on a grey background
iPhone 17 Pro tipped to get 8K video recording – but I want these 3 video features instead
EA Sports F1 25 promotional image featuring drivers Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman.
F1 25 has been officially announced, with this year's entry marking a return for Braking Point and a 'significant overhaul' for My Team mode
Garmin clippd integration
Garmin's golf watches just got a big software integration upgrade to help you improve your game