BARCELONA // Sony has rebooted its high-end smartphone product suite with the launch of the Xperia X range, as it battles challenges from the likes of Samsung and LG.
The X range, unveiled yesterday on the first day of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, marks the most significant overhaul of Sony’s premium handset design since the launch of the Xperia Z range three years ago.
The new range consists of the X, X Performance (the latter containing a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor) and XA. All sport 12.7-centimetre curved screen designs.
The X and X Performance have 1080p displays, with the more mid-range XA packing a modest 720p display.
The X and X Performance come with 23-megapixel rear- facing cameras, with what Sony describes as Predictive Hybrid Autofocus, a focusing system that predicts a subject’s motion, promising less blurry images.
Sony claims that the new devices will be able to run for two days on a single battery charge.
The three devices, available in white, black, “lime gold” and rose gold, are to be commercially available in the summer.
Sony did not share details regarding pricing.
The launch of three high-end devices at MWC highlights Sony’s commitment to the premium device market, following last year’s comparatively subdued launch of the mid-range Xperia M4 Aqua and the Xperia Z4 Android tablet.
The company said last year that it was abandoning the lower-end smartphone market, dominated by Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and Xiaomi, in an effort to boost profit margins. The strategy appears to have been successful thus far. Sony last month announced a 15 per cent year-on-year drop in quarterly mobile revenues, but operating income for the division increased by 40.2 per cent.
“This significant increase was primarily due to an improvement in product mix reflecting a shift to high value-added models, as well as reductions in costs including marketing, research and development and other selling, general and administrative expenses,” the company said in its results statement.
The retreat from the value smartphone segment led to Sony’s market share in the Middle East and Africa falling to just 1.6 per cent at the end of 2015, compared with 2.4 per cent a year earlier, according to figures from the industry analysts IDC.
The company faces a challenge to retain the loyalty of customers tempted by high-profile new devices such as the LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, both unveiled in Barcelona on Sunday afternoon.
“The Sony brand is still a prestige brand that has a lot of value, but their market share stands under 2 per cent across the Middle East and Africa,” said Nabila Popal, research manager for IDC in Dubai.
“It is hard to see them getting out of that box. The big question is not whether they can significantly increase their market share but whether they can hold on to what they have now as the market becomes ever more competitive.”
In addition to the Xperia X range, Sony also unveiled the Xperia Ear, a voice-controlled earpiece that responds to verbal commands, together with the RM-X7BT, which enables wireless music streaming and uses Sony’s voice technology to activate smartphone functions while driving.
Both products will be commercially available from this summer, with no details available about pricing.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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Mina Cup winners
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Total funding: Self funded
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
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2.5 / 5 stars
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Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
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The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.