It almost seems like an eternity ago when Verizon and Sony announced the Xperia Z4V, the U.S. version of Sony’s then-flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z4. Fast forward to today, however, and the companies revealed that launch will no longer happen.
Undoubtedly a blow to Sony’s attempted penetration of the U.S. smartphone market, Verizon updated its Xperia Z4V announcement page with the bad news. “Verizon will no longer be launching the Xperia Z4V, however we are committed to supporting Sony Mobile’s product portfolio and will support existing products,” says Verizon’s statement. “Sony is a strategic partner as we continue having ongoing discussions together as part of our future portfolio.”
Sony, meanwhile, backed up Verizon’s statement, saying it “remains dedicated to the U.S. market and aims to build a sound a stable business in this region. Verizon is a strategic partner as we continue having ongoing discussions together as part of our future portfolio.”
Even though the Xperia Z4V was announced back in July, Verizon and Sony were rather coy as to when the phone would be released. Since then, Sony announced the Xperia Z5 series of smartphones, which include the Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, and the Xperia Z5 Premium, the latter of which has garnered much attention over its 4K display.
There’s no word as to whether Verizon will carry any of the Xperia Z5 smartphones and neither Verizon or Sony revealed the reasoning behind the Xperia Z4V’s cancellation.
The now-abandoned smartphone would have arrived with a 5.2-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 resolution display, a Snapdragon 810 processor paired with 3GB of RAM, a 20-megapixel camera, 32GB of internal storage, the highest waterproofing rating given to any smartphone, and wireless charging capabilities. In addition, Verizon was rumored to offer a $220 discount for those coming from the Xperia Z3V, which was released last October.
