Sony discontinues production of flagship Xperia smartphones

• Sony stays in smartphone market despite less than 1% market share
• The move away from in-house assembly of flagships is seen as a strategy to reduce costs and improve efficiency
• Details on the choice of contract manufacturers and the timing of the transition were not disclosed

Analysts said the move would allow Sony to focus on design, software and optimizing user experience by outsourcing logistics and assembly to more specialized facilities.