The future of Razer’s smartphone plans now seem uncertain following claims there will be no Razer Phone 3 coming to market.
A new report has now surfaced after receiving a tip that there has been workforce cuts at the company over the weekend. The report from Droid Life specifically mentions the tip looked to confirm the “majority of its mobile device” had been let go.
In response to the report, Razer did not confirm that the mobile side of the business had encountered substantial layoffs, but did confirm that the workforce had been downsized by about 2-percent overall and “several projects” had been canned. According to the company, the changes had been implemented “to realign our organization and strengthen our path to growth.”
Although the confirmation from Razer does not point to the mobile division specifically, the report draws on the lack of a denial of the mobile aspect as further suggestion that the job losses, as well as “the realignment” efforts mentioned by the company, have primarily come at the cost of Razer’s phone ambitions.
If the details are correct then it would seem likely that Razer’s existence as a phone brand might now be time-sensitive. As based on this latest information, and in addition to the confirmation from the company of the downsizing, the original tipster was noted confirming the Razor Phone 3 development had already been cancelled.
To date, the company has only released two major smartphones. The first was the original Razor Phone and came with a clear emphasis on gaming, including greater than usual core specs for improved performance, as well as a higher refresh rate, and more. The original Razer Phone was first announced in late 2017 and seemed to build upon a design style laid out by Nextbit – a company acquired by Razer earlier in the same year.
Almost exactly a year later the Razer Phone 2 was announced and arrived with a very similar look and feel to the original model, as well as the same gamer focus. Aspects that are unlikely to have helped garner additional sales or encourage an upgrade by existing Razer Phone owners.
In many ways this news might not be that surprising as the mobile sphere has proved increasingly difficult for a number of companies, and especially when it comes to newer entries finding their place. Even the more experienced and well-known phone makers such as HTC and LG have found it increasingly hard of late to replicate the success they experienced in previous years.
With the increase in competition, and the decrease in ability for brands to stand out, coupled with the fact that Razer’s phones have primarily targeted a niche sector of the smartphone market, the ask for the company’s mobile division to remain viable may have simply been too much of an ask in the current climate.
Right now it remains unclear how a downsizing like this might affect software support to existing Razer Phone and Razer Phone 2 customers, although the latest report does suggest some of the mobile division have been kept on to help maintain user support, including software updates.