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Sony

It’s hard to imagine a company with a greater influence on consumer electronics than Sony. You can trace a direct line from the Walkman -- the first portable media player -- to the smartphone. Today Sony is a massive force in gaming, making the PlayStation and publishing games for it and other platforms. Sony image sensors are in iPhones as well as its own mirrorless cameras. Not to mention the OLED TVs; smartphones; noise-canceling headphones; music, tv, and film publishing; and, yes, robot dogs.

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Dominic Preston
Sony buys a stake in Bandai Namco.

It’s only taking 2.5 percent, but that’ll set Sony back JPY68 billion (around $464 million).

They’re calling it a “strategic business alliance,” focused on “expanding the fan community for IP such as anime and manga.” Sounds like it’ll be as much about Sony’s anime streaming service Crunchyroll as it will be about the two companies’ gaming pedigree.

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Jay Peters
Party speakers are out.

Party sprakers are in.

A screenshot of a Google search showing the term “Sony Bluetooth Party Sprakers.”
Thanks to Gordon for tipping this!
Sony’s best noise-canceling headphones are up to 45 percent offSony’s best noise-canceling headphones are up to 45 percent off
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The Verge’s guide to Amazon Prime Day 2025
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Emma Roth
Digimon returns with another story in October.

It’s been years since we saw an entry in Digimon’s Story series, and now it’s returning with Digimon Story Time Stranger on October 3rd, 2025. The game’s description says it tells an “epic story that unravels the mystery of the world’s collapse” as you carry out turn-based battles with a variety of Digimon collected throughout the game.

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Andrew Liszewski
Sony made the battery easier to replace in its WH-1000XM6 headphones.

In addition to better ANC and the return to a folding design, Sony quietly improved access to the battery in its recently-launched WH-1000XM6 wireless headphones.

During a teardown iFixit discovered the battery is now held in place by two screws instead of double-sided tape like Sony used on previous models, making it relatively easy to access and replace if you’re comfortable disassembling a $450 pair of headphones.

Sony WH-1000XM6 hands-on: back to the fold
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Better sound, better noise cancellation, and some design improvements, but a higher price.

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Richard Lawler
Sony tees up XM6 headphone reveal for May 15th.

The next generation of Sony’s noise canceling headphones is almost here. Sony has a placeholder YouTube stream counting down to the WH-1000XM6 launch on Thursday at noon ET, which will finally flesh out the real information after some recent leaks.

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Dominic Preston
Sony still makes phones.

The company is teasing its next launch, presumably the Xperia 1 VII, which it will reveal on May 13th (well, in Japan — it’ll be the evening of May 12th in the US). The teaser shows off a familiar design and some Alpha camera features.

Last’s year’s Xperia 1 VI never launched in the US, and with no US time zones mentioned, a repeat of that looks likely too.

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Tina Nguyen
Sony may spin off its chipmaking unit.

Bloomberg reports that the tech conglomerate, which is looking to streamline its operation and recently began spinning off its financial arm, may list their semiconductor manufacturing arm as early as this year. This move would allow Sony, the maker of Playstation, to devote more resources to its gaming and entertainment businesses, though the plan may change due to market volatility caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs. (Sony denied the reports in a statement, calling them “speculation”.)

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Charles Pulliam-Moore
Spider-Can you feel a brand new day?

While we won’t be seeing more of the animated Miles Morales for another two years, Sony and Marvel announced at this year’s CinemaCon that the wait for Tom Holland’s live-action Spider-Man is going to be much shorter. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to hit theaters on July 31st, 2026, and both the movie’s logo and subtitle suggest some big changes are on the way.

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Andrew Liszewski
Another Nintendo PlayStation prototype has emerged.

Only 200 prototypes of the Nintendo PlayStation were ever made, and most were destroyed when the partnership fell through. What was believed to be the last remaining prototype in existence sold at auction for $360,000 in 2020, but Julian Domanski discovered that former Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Ken Kutaragi has had one stashed away in a closet, as spotted by Time Extension. Don’t expect it to hit the auction block any time soon.