The news Sony would outsource their TV business to TCL took me by surprise. Bravia is one of the most recognizable TV brands in the world – I don’t think anyone with a television set has escaped Sony’s colorful ad from many years ago. I imagine even big names such as Sony are having difficulties against extreme competition in the home entertainment business. So, to a certain extent, I can understand their reasoning for getting TCL in the picture.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Sony isn’t (or was) just a TV maker. It’s responsible for many successful products: the PlayStation, the Alpha cameras (photos, cinema, sensor business), the audio accessories (still rocking my WH-1000XM3), and all the services that enhance them. The one thing lacking is the common thread. That one thing that needs to tie them together in an ecosystem.
It is why I believe Sony needs somebody to steer all those departments in the same direction and make them work together. We’ve seen this with the Alpha and smartphone divisions. That’s a nice start, but Sony needs to go full speed with this. Hardware, software, and services, all talking to each other and being part of the same ecosystem.
Come on, Sony! You can do it!
PS: Once you’re done with that, you can bring back the Vaio line.
