Like each flagship iPhone that has launched in recent years, the odds are fairly good that the iPhone 6 will be the best-selling single smartphone model of the year following its debut, which is expected in late September. But according to the latest unsolicited advice from an unlikely source, Apple could sell far more iPhones by following Sony’s strategy and giving smartphone users what they want.
According to a report from The Inquirer, Sony’s mobile boss for the European region thinks Apple is doing it wrong.
“There is a cycle in the chipset market which can give us the opportunity to launch a new product more often than once a year,” Sony’s president of NW Europe, Pierre Perron, told the site. “This market is going very fast. Because mobile consumers are more demanding when it comes to entertainment experience, [they] want to access music, game experiences, faster [and] easier, in a more integrated way.”
In order to meet the needs of demanding smartphone customers, Apple should release new phones not once but twice a year, according to Perron. By not launching new iPhone models several times each year, Apple is “missing out,” the executive said.
This is why Sony is releasing the new Xperia Z2 so soon after the launch of its predecessor, the Xperia Z1 — because customers demand “the best technology on the best platform” and Sony wants “to make sure our consumers aren’t disappointed in any way.”
Sony makes underappreciated smartphones that are far more impressive and capable than their performance in the market might suggest, but to give Apple advice on how to conduct its business seems a bit out of line.
Apple’s revenue from iPhone sales alone in the most recent quarter totaled $32.5 billion while Sony’s entire mobile division racked up just $4.3 billion in sales.
