WC 1M Post Challenge - You Ready?!

[fatclue_98]

I mean, it's got a TON I like. A TON - on paper. I thought Qi was in, but even if that's out, it is feature packed. But for $1200? Sony picked the wrong time to be Sony if true. Wish they would have snuck that in at say $1050, but that's just me.

It's why I'd be interested in the Xperia 5 II if they just shrunk it down with a 1080P screen and a 3650mah battery - Qi or no Qi. Camera needs to seriously perform though, target audience or not. Sony being Sony might price that at $1000. Yikes.

Even at $900 it's a tough sell without carrier financing. You think Apple could do their thing without no-money-down from carriers?

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Even at $900 it's a tough sell without carrier financing. You think Apple could do their thing without no-money-down from carriers?

Sony just wrote their own epitaph with these crazy prices.

I mean, as someone who has liked Omnibalance, Sony's have always been expensive. I can remember vividly the Z2 and Z3 hovering at $700-$800. And I though those were overpriced on launch, as good as they were.

There was no way they would go under a $1000 - given what Samsung, Apple and Huawei have been charging. But landing it square in S20 Ultra territory I don't think is wise. It's why while I respect them splitting up the Compact and Premium lines to fall and spring, they needed to show a bit more restraint in pricing. This means the 5G model, especially if they added Qi also, would be around $1450.

 

[worldspy99]

I mean, as someone who has liked Omnibalance, Sony's have always been expensive. I can remember vividly the Z2 and Z3 hovering at $700-$800. And I though those were overpriced on launch, as good as they were.

There was no way they would go under a $1000 - given what Samsung, Apple and Huawei have been charging. But landing it square in S20 Ultra territory I don't think is wise. It's why while I respect them splitting up the Compact and Premium lines to fall and spring, they needed to show a bit more restraint in pricing. This means the 5G model, especially if they added Qi also, would be around $1450.

Agreed. And at $1450 people would rather get a Samsung or Huawei over Sony (if they prefer Android) as they both have better camera output using (gasp) Sony sensors. And if they're platform agnostic they would rather just get an iPhone at those exorbitant prices.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Even at $900 it's a tough sell without carrier financing. You think Apple could do their thing without no-money-down from carriers?

Oh, as for Apple - thanks to Dan Hesse, Sprint sold all orifices known to man for penetration when they signed on to sell iPhone. That's why their ads and trade ins have been so aggressive - they GOTTA move those units.

 

[worldspy99]

Even at $900 it's a tough sell without carrier financing. You think Apple could do their thing without no-money-down from carriers?

Keep in mind Samsung has great launch deals and also some awesome deals around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Haven't seen a Sony deal anywhere close. Ever.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Agreed. And at $1450 people would rather get a Samsung or Huawei over Sony (if they prefer Android) as they both have better camera output using (gasp) Sony sensors. And if they're platform agnostic they would rather just get an iPhone at those exorbitant prices.

Ibid. An iPhone is a better buy software support wise at that price. Outside of Google no one is doing 3 years of software support for Android in the known tiers - and Google just started offering that. Sony's still being pig headed.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Keep in mind Samsung has great launch deals and also some awesome deals around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Haven't seen a Sony deal anywhere close. Ever.

Sony has bundled in some nice things but they don't do trade ins. More pig headed business.

 

[worldspy99]

Ibid. An iPhone is a better buy software support wise at that price. Outside of Google no one is doing 3 years of software support for Android in the known tiers - and Google just started offering that. Sony's still being pig headed.

Yup. Samsung is getting better slowly but surely as far as software support. Android 10 was available on S8 and for the new devices they push out security patch updates on a regular basis.

I'm not sure if anyone at least here in the USA would spend the kind of money Sony is asking for. Perhaps in other parts of the world but definitely not here.

 

[worldspy99]

Sony has bundled in some nice things but they don't do trade ins. More pig headed business.

Trade in is what keeps Samsung and Apple afloat. Google has gotten pretty aggressive with it too. For Pixel 3a they had some pretty amazing deals at launch last year.

 

[worldspy99]

My OnePlus 7T just got an update.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

So Huawei for stills is a great story of singular focus. Prior to the Nexus 6P, no one took their hardware or cameras seriously in the high end. From the 6P to the Mate 8, they did solid work. But from the P9, they buckled down in partnering with Leica. P9, Mate 9 (gen one) P10 and Mate 10 (gen 2) were great foundation layers, and from the Mate RS/P20 Pro onwards they've been consistently top 3 in Android stills, top 4 overall.

They did this with an outside partnership. Sony in comparison from 2012-2018 pushed out new hardware every 6 months. They in house had Alpha but due to pig headedness never leveraged that tech until 2019(!). Because of their aggressive cycle, Sony still could have slept walked through 2016 and used 2017 to start to add Alpha influences. On that track, the 2020 phones would be akin to that Mate RS/P20 pro performance gains.

Point is, they've screwed the pooch. I don't think they can recover full, but can still be a solid niche player. They need to show some pricing restraint as if Samsung is offering better for the same price to a wider audience, that's an automatic L.

 

[worldspy99]

So Huawei for stills is a great story of singular focus. Prior to the Nexus 6P, no one took their hardware or cameras seriously in the high end. From the 6P to the Mate 8, they did solid work. But from the P9, they buckled down in partnering with Leica. P9, Mate 9 (gen one) P10 and Mate 10 (gen 2) were great foundation layers, and from the Mate RS/P20 Pro onwards they've been consistently top 3 in Android stills, top 4 overall.

They did this with an outside partnership. Sony in comparison from 2012-2018 pushed out new hardware every 6 months. They in house had Alpha but due to pig headedness never leveraged that tech until 2019(!). Because of their aggressive cycle, Sony still could have slept walked through 2016 and used 2017 to start to add Alpha influences. On that track, the 2020 phones would be akin to that Mate RS/P20 pro performance gains.

Point is, they've screwed the pooch. I don't think they can recover full, but can still be a solid niche player. They need to show some pricing restraint as if Samsung is offering better for the same price to a wider audience, that's an automatic L.

If Sony paid attention to the camera and swallowed their pride and sold a $400 device to rival the Pixel 3a they still have a good shot. They just need to throw in the towel on the premium smartphone segment.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Yup. Samsung is getting better slowly but surely as far as software support. Android 10 was available on S8 and for the new devices they push out security patch updates on a regular basis.

I'm not sure if anyone at least here in the USA would spend the kind of money Sony is asking for. Perhaps in other parts of the world but definitely not here.

Once Samsung offers three year support, people are done.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

If Sony paid attention to the camera and swallowed their pride and sold a $400 device to rival the Pixel 3a they still have a good shot. They just need to throw in the towel on the premium smartphone segment.

Sony's pride is Japanese. That's not happening.

 

[worldspy99]

Sony's pride is Japanese. That's not happening.

In that case the pricing of the new phones announced today equals to the epitaph.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

If Sony paid attention to the camera and swallowed their pride and sold a $400 device to rival the Pixel 3a they still have a good shot. They just need to throw in the towel on the premium smartphone segment.

I don't think they should completely abandon the premium segment. Their pricing to value ratio is still too off. If they added more value for the price, they may be OK.

If they did a Pixel 3A style model, they'd be crushed. I don't think they have the capacity volume wise now to move as many units. The competition in that bracket is fiercer now than in the premium segment.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

In that case the pricing of the new phones announced today equals to the epitaph.

You sadly may be right there. I'm looking forward to see it at B&H though.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Agreed. And at $1450 people would rather get a Samsung or Huawei over Sony (if they prefer Android) as they both have better camera output using (gasp) Sony sensors. And if they're platform agnostic they would rather just get an iPhone at those exorbitant prices.

The main reason why I chose Samsung five months ago rather than LG was pricing. The V50 looked really nice, but I couldn't see paying as much for it as my S10+, especially since LG isn't great in terms of battery life.

I would have made the same choice had I needed to choose between Sony and Samsung. I'm also not thrilled that the new Sony high end device only comes in black and purple. I was also similarly disappointed that the V50 only comes in black. Since I've taken a liking to clear cases, I prefer phones with interesting colours. Even the grey S20 looks more interesting to me than a black device.

 

[worldspy99]

The main reason why I chose Samsung five months ago rather than LG was pricing. The V50 looked really nice, but I couldn't see paying as much for it as my S10+, especially since LG isn't great in terms of battery life.

I would have made the same choice had I needed to choose between Sony and Samsung. I'm also not thrilled that the new Sony high end device only comes in black and purple. I was also similarly disappointed that the V50 only comes in black. Since I've taken a liking to clear cases, I prefer phones with interesting colours. Even the grey S20 looks more interesting to me than a black device.

The Gray S20 looked really nice at the demo location.

 

[Laura Knotek]

The Gray S20 looked really nice at the demo location.

I know you're getting a grey S20. I've always liked grey and wished that AT&T had grey Lumias available. The ones you repaired looked really nice.