Sony Takes the Crown, Apple Hits a Brick Wall in Japan

According to the latest statistics, Japanese manufacturer Sony has finally had its moment in its home market, knocking the long-reigning Apple iPhone 5S off its perch with the Sony Xperia Z1f during the week of the 16th to the 22nd, claiming the No. 1 spot in sales market share.

According to Japan mobile phone sales ranking data published by market research firm BCN, when breaking down by different telecom carriers as well as different storage capacities of the same model, in the week of December 16 to 22, the Sony Xperia Z1f, which telecom carrier NTT DoCoMo began selling on the 19th, finally reclaimed the sales market share crown in its home market, pushing aside the long-standing No. 1, the Apple iPhone 5S.

Since Apple's iPhone 5 went on sale in Japan at the end of September, Apple has not only held firmly onto the top spot in Japan's smartphone market sales share rankings, but the subsequent rankings were also uniformly dominated by Apple's army.

Japanese brand Sony has achieved impressive results in international markets, but in its home market it has been no match for Apple's army. In recent months, however, it has clawed back the No. 2 spot in market share with its Xperia series phones, though still some distance behind Apple. In the rankings for December 16 to 22, the Sony Xperia Z1f claimed victory, which will give Sony more confidence to challenge the iPhone. The Sony Xperia Z1f is the mini version of this year's second-half bestselling 5-inch flagship Xperia Z1, with the screen size reduced to 4.3 inches.

However, if all storage capacities of the iPhone are counted together, Apple still holds the lion's share of the Japanese market. Apart from the Sony Z1f taking the No. 1 spot in sales share, the remaining No. 2 through No. 9 spots are all dominated by Apple's iPhone 5S, 5C and other models in various storage capacities.

Looking at other brands, Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 fell from No. 27 to No. 31 in sales market share ranking, while HTC's HTC J One rose from No. 37 back to No. 33.