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Sony won’t stop making Android phones

Sony’s Xperia lineup of Android phones has never been particularly popular, and despite the sky-high pricing making them almost impossible to recommend, the company isn’t throwing in the towel any time soon, as Sony has just committed to years of further Android releases.

In a press release, Sony and Qualcomm announced a “multi-year” deal to continue bringing Snapdragon chips to Xperia smartphones both in the premium and mid-range tiers.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced that it has extended its collaboration with Snapdragon® platforms powering Sony’s future smartphones. The companies agreed to work together on the next generations of premium, high-, and mid-tier smartphones.

Sony has been close with Qualcomm for quite some time, but this announcement is notable just because it sets the stage for more and more Xperia phones to come.

The Xperia lineup has long neglected the US market, with phones only sold unlocked and at very high price points. The most recent Xperia 1 V, for instance, launches in about a month and commands a price of $1,400. Even internationally, Sony only makes up a very small chunk of the market. Japan, Sony’s home market, is among the most popular, and even there Sony has been seeing a decline.

While it’s easy to question why Sony continues to make Android phones, it’s still good to see the company making an effort. As the Android smartphone market has continually condensed, especially at the high-end, having more options, even if they’re small, is a good thing.

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.


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