Sony may take a radical step and abandon the Xperia brand for its smartphones, moving to a new image, Phonearena reports.

The Xperia line of smartphones has always stood out for its unpredictable design and technical solutions. The initial device in this series, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, appeared in 2008 with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3-inch display and a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, running on the Windows Mobile platform.

In 2011, Xperia Play was released with a retractable gamepad, and in 2015, Xperia Z5 Premium, the first smartphone with a 4K display, was launched.

Despite the innovations, Xperia did not gain popularity in the US and other countries. In 2018 and this year, Sony's CEO, Kaz Hirai, admitted that the company will continue to produce smartphones, even if it is not a profitable business due to high prices.

Currently, Sony ranks 14th in the smartphone market with a 0.35% share, ahead of Asus but slightly behind HMD Global, the owner of the Nokia brand license.

Phonearena emphasizes that Sony is operating on the scorched earth principle in the smartphone industry. Rumors have surfaced that the company may abandon the Xperia brand in 2025, when it will release a device with a front-facing camera under the display, an event that is expected to put it two years ahead of Apple.

This decision could change the look of Sony's smartphones and lead to a revamp of the company's business.