In an interview discussing Sony in South Africa, AI and televisions (amongst others), TechSmart chats to Jobin Joejoe, Managing Director, Sony Middle East and Africa.

Can you tell us more about Sony’s investment in South Africa and specific projects or partnerships in this region?

We operate in the South African and Middle Eastern market through a hub and spoke model, covering the entire region, but we do have an affinity for South Africa.

Over the past few years, we have noticed how the African region has established itself as a hub for creative talent and to nurture the growing talent, we have adopted key initiatives such as the Sony Creators Convention, Alpha Festivals and Sony Cine Tours, all of which help give content creators a platform to sharpen their skills and realise their potential.

In addition to this, we also recently launched the Sony Innovation Fund, dedicated towards supporting the growth of the entertainment businesses in Africa through key collaborations in the gaming, music, movie and content distribution sectors.

Is there anything specific about the South Africa's electronics market that differs from other parts of MEA?

While we cannot provide information about South Africa’s electronics market, I can share that the consumers here in South Africa play a vital role in establishing new trends and experiences especially in the audio and content creation segment. We recently launched the ULT series – a new series of battery-operated wireless speakers and headphones which has been a major highlight considering the South African’s love for music, entertainment and other major sporting events including rugby and cricket.

What is Sony’s top performing consumer products in South Africa?

We have always benchmarked our strategy and expectations against the needs of our consumers in South Africa. To further support this, we have intentionally and strategically curated products like the Alpha 9 III in the digital imaging segment, the award winning 1000x noise cancelling series in the audio segment and the newly launched ULT series to bring us closer to our customers and increase the lifetime value.

How is artificial intelligence driving Sony's future products?

As a creative entertainment company, embracing new ideas and technologies have always been at the forefront of our initiatives. Sony was the first to identify this trend and diversify our offering with the launch of the ILCE -7RM5 - an AI processing unit specifically dedicated to processing significant amounts of data to enable more accurate recognition of subjects and recognition of a wider range of subject types in various situations providing accurate subject picture quality and stills. It is through these developments that at present Sony stands as a market leader in the digital imaging industry.

What innovation can we look forward to in the television market?

Given the growing appetite for OTT platforms and the shift towards digitized content we see an increased demand for large screen TVs in the region. We are constantly monitoring technology trends and market demands and develop products that provide broad image expression and the ultimate viewing experience.

Are there specific Sony products you are looking forward to?

As I touched upon earlier, all our strategies for this region are planned considering the needs of our customers and with these new launches, we have expanded our consumer base to cater to various age groups and preferences. We believe technology is a tool to add more value and opportunity for a richer and more emotional life therefore we will continue to deliver on our promise to stimulate an emotional response through a wide range of experiences from digital imaging solutions, movies, gaming and more.