Qualcomm inked a multi-year tie-up with electronics giant Sony to jointly develop technology for the Japanese vendor’s next generations of premium and mid-tier smartphones, extending an existing relationship.

The handset manufacturer already uses Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms for its Xperia handsets, which are aimed at the high- and mid-end of the smartphone market. The partnership has already been in place for a number of years.

With the new agreement, the pair noted they aim to achieve “enhanced functionality, higher performance and more immersive user experiences” for the Japanese brand’s models.

Sony head of Mobile Communications Business Unit Tsutomu Hamaguchi said it wanted to provide “premium and compelling experiences on future smartphones powered by Snapdragon processors”.

Globally, Sony ranks outside of the top five smartphone vendors by shipments in statistics from all of the main analyst houses tracking them. However the company still racks-up significant sales across several markets, including at home, with IDC figures for 2022 (published by Gizmochina) placing it fifth in Japan with a 7.5 per cent market share.