Good news for Sony smartphone fans as new deal struck with Qualcomm on Snapdragon chips for Xperia phones

Qualcomm and Sony have announced a new multi-year partnership that will see Snapdragon chips exclusively fitted to forthcoming Xperia smartphones. The deal is significant for Sony Xperia smartphone fans as it underscores Sony’s ongoing commitment to release new smartphones in the coming years. Sony’s Xperia smartphones, while generally well-received by critics, have never enjoyed the level of popularity in the Android world that Samsung and others have.

For its part, Qualcomm Asia-Pacific senior vice president, O.H. Kwan said, “We’re thrilled to continue working with our longstanding partner Sony to deliver the next generation of premium mobile technologies to consumers.” In response, Sony’s head of mobile communications, Tsutomu Hamaguchi said, “We look forward to continuing our work with Qualcomm Technologies to deliver premium and compelling experiences on future smartphones powered by Snapdragon processors.”

Sony’s declining smartphone sales saw the company pull out of numerous markets starting in 2019, as it sought to consolidate its foothold in markets where its devices continued to remain profitable. This has meant that, for the most part, its flagship Xperia 1 range has only been available in select markets leaving Sony fans globally drooling over world-first features like variable telephoto zoom lenses. Since the global market withdrawal, Sony has not shown any indications that it plans on re-entering these markets, but this deal suggests that at least Xperia phones are here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Purchase the Sony Xperia 1 V from Amazon.