Sony has revealed its smartphone plans for the rest of 2017 and it is ditching an entire category it has supported for years.

It will no longer release what it terms "Premium Standard" handsets - phones like the Xperia X and Xperia X Compact, as released last year.

Instead, it will announce two new flagship devices in the second half of 2017, that will go alongside the Sony Xperia XZ Premium and Xperia XZs at the top of the company's line-up.

There will still be Sony Xperia Android smartphones available in the "Mid Range", including the Xperia XA1, XA1 Ultra and L1.

Sony said that it wants to concentrate on "high value-added" flagship models during its investors meeting in Tokyo yesterday, 23 May. It also revealed that, outside of Japan, the Premium Standard phones of old were only achieving 31 per cent of original sales targets.

It makes sense therefore that the company wants to focus its efforts on the higher end market instead.

As is traditional, it is likely that Sony will unveil its two new flagship Xperia phones during the IFA 2017 consumer electronics trade show in Berlin. It is being held at the beginning of September and is often the launch pad for several new devices from numerous manufacturers.

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