Intriguing compact Sony Xperia smartphone rumor pops up but as usual there is a catch

A somewhat sketchy rumor about the Xperia line has been shared by SumahoDigest, with the alleged original source of the information hiding somewhere on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. As it concerns something that has been pretty much rumored on an annual basis for the last few years, it’s worth being skeptical here. According to the shadowy source, a “tiny” (machine-translated) Xperia could make a return in 2025, but before international fans of the brand get excited there is that aforementioned catch: It would likely be a Japan-only model.

This would make sense in terms of other recent rumors about the Sony Xperia line and its serial shrinkage issue. At the moment, it is rumored that Sony might only put out one international phone this year in the likely form of the Sony Xperia 1 VII. The company could release multiple phones this year but keep the others for its relatively strong home market. It has been reported that Sony has a 3.82% chunk of the smartphone market in Japan in contrast to its negligible worldwide share. Releasing a Sony Xperia ACE IV just for the home market would make some sense.

A compact successor to the petite 5.5-inch ACE III has been rumored for a long time; at one point it was even stated that it would get a global release. Of course, rumors are often inaccurate and it’s worth adding in the fact that global markets are volatile, so companies do change their plans even if it means incurring a huge loss in research and development. In 2024, there were rumors on a Japanese forum that an ACE IV might even come with a MediaTek SoC, which would be quite the departure for the Snapdragon-loyal brand.