The new Sony Xperia Z2 flagship smartphone may not face delays after all, but it may see limited stock at launch.
Sony apparently saw great demand for its new Xperia Z2, and concerns about a delay started to emerge when various Sony online stores have removed the pre-order option for the handset. This quiet move sparked rumors of a launch delay, particularly in the UK, but the company has now stated that its latest flagship will arrive in April as planned.
"We're seeing particularly strong demand for Xperia Z2 across all of our distribution channels," Sony told the Xperia Blog. "As with all of our product launches, global rollout is phased across markets and channels. Consumers will be able to get Xperia Z2 in the UK starting from April."
Even with this statement reaffirming the April launch, concerns now revolve around actual availability. Some speculate that only a few Xperia Z2 units will be available initially, suggesting some serious stock constraints.
While in the UK Sony explained that its online store is no longer taking pre-orders for the Xperia Z2 because of stock numbers, Sony's French PR has also hinted that the handset is already in such great demand that the company is facing an unexpected shortages. It remains to be seen whether the new Sony Xperia Z2 will launch according to schedule in all areas, not just the UK, and whether there will be sufficient stock at launch.
Despite Sony's reassurances and claims of great demand, concerns of supply shortages ahead of the product's actual commercial launch spark a whole new set of questions. First of all, it's odd to see a big company fail to anticipate demand for a new flagship smartphone, but it's not unprecedented either. LG and Google, for instance, faced a lot of criticism with their Nexus 4, which saw such great demand that it was barely in stock.
On the other hand, with Sony it seems that Xperia Z2 stock ran out immediately with pre-orders alone, suggesting that the company may not have had much stock to begin with.
Either way, the only thing confirmed is that the Sony Xperia Z2 will launch in April as planned, at least in the UK. All other stock concerns are purely speculative at this point, and will continue to be so until the device actually hits commercial availability.
