Sony unveiled the Xperia 1 VI and Xperia 10 VI on May 15 and left fans of small flagships waiting for the Xperia 5 VI. However, that model may have been axed.
Sony will not release a new model in the Xperia 5 series, according to a recent press conference, which had two general managers from Sony in attendance, reports K-Tai Watch. Instead, Sony plans to continue selling the Xperia 5 V from last year. This decision apparently applies both to the domestic and the global markets.
What happened? This move is allegedly due to change in consumers’ buying habits. Sony saw an increased number of Xperia 5 V users upgrading to the 1 VI, compared to a relatively small number of 5-series users that switched to the 1 V in the previous generation (shown in red below).
No decision for Sony’s marketing strategy for 2025 has been made public. There is a chance that the 5-series will make a comeback, after some tuning up to better suit the new market demands. But any such plans are only known internally.
We reached out to Sony for comment and will update you when we hear anything.