Sony – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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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.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Ace Combat 8 release date: October 2nd.

Ace Combat’s been a lovely mix of anime plot and dogfighting action for a long time now, and it looks like we’re getting even more of the former with installment eight. So many pretty cutscenes, where we generally get comparatively static exposition.

Sony’s first RGB TV is a statement piece

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Verge Score

While the tech is still new, Sony’s Bravia 7 II proves that RGB LED TVs are capable of serious performance.

John Higgins
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Zara resurrects the PSP as a crossbody bag.

As long as you don’t expect it to do anything more than just store a stack of UMDs you won’t be disappointed by Zara’s new $35.90 PSP crossbody bag that features a silicone recreation of Sony’s handheld on the front and a matching Playstation-themed shoulder strap.

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1/3Image: Zara
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Sony’s other PS Plus plans are going up in price too.

When it announced price hikes this week, Sony focused on the cheapest Essential tier. As we suspected though, now the new prices are live, Extra and Premium have gone up too. Extra now starts at $16.99 per month, while Premium is $19.99.

Sony’s 1000X The Collexion are a luxurious and expensive celebration of its iconic headphones

7

Verge Score

The latest headphones from Sony are a more plush take on its flagship series, with a price tag to match.

John Higgins
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
A strong brand identity.

Look, I’m not saying Sony’s audio naming scheme is good, per se, but you can’t deny it’s distinct. Is it really willing to throw that away?

Hoto:

Are we sure the initial reporting is correct? Isn’t a Sony product more likely to be named the WH-C0113-X10N?

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Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Sony and TSMC are teaming up on image sensors.

The two companies are forming a joint venture that will combine Sony’s designs with TSMC’s manufacturing capabilities to develop next-gen image sensors. The joint venture, majority owned by Sony, will also allow the companies to explore opportunities in physical AI applications in the robotics and automotive industries, the press release says.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
You can force your PS5 to play PS3 discs.

Remember that mod for running Linux on PlayStation 5 consoles? It turns out that people are using it as a base to install the open-source RPCS3 PlayStation 3 emulator, which allows Sony’s newer console to read physical PS3 discs.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Sony’s new covers wrap your WF-1000XM6 earbuds in vegan leather.

The best (currently) noise-canceling earbuds will feel even more premium with Sony’s new $39.99 case covers that wrap the WF-1000XM6’s charging case in a smooth vegan leather finish. The cover is available in black and light gray, and while it makes the case slightly larger, it doesn’t inhibit wireless charging.

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Multiple photos of Sony’s WF-1000MX6 earbuds vegan leather case covers.
The new vegan leather WF-1000XM6 charging case covers match the colors of Sony’s flagship wireless earbuds.
Image: Sony
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Sony accidentally leaks 10th anniversary headphones.

A product called “1000X The Collexion” with an over-ear headphone model number of “WH-1000XX” briefly appeared on Sony’s region websites. There are no images, but a previous report suggest that the limited-edition model will launch for €629 (about $740) on May 19th.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Sony is deprecating some TV guide features for 2023-2025 Bravia TVs.

Starting in “late May 2026,” for channels you watch over an antenna, you may not see program information in the guide “depending on the channel”, and only programs from recently watched channels “may” appear, Sony says.

You can read the full list changes on Sony’s website.

Cameron Faulkner
Cameron Faulkner
Sony’s wireless gaming earbuds now come in transparent purple.

The InZone Buds lineup made for PS5 and PC have a third color option: Glass Purple. Next to white and black, purple is easily the most stunning choice, albeit the most fingerprint-prone. The sometimes glossy, sometimes matte-textured see-through plastic is used on every component, from the charging case and USB-C transmitter to the earbuds themselves. The gorgeous set is now available for $239.99 from Amazon, Best Buy, and Sony.

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Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
“Get off the ad crack!”

That’s the message Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman had for theaters at CinemaCon, pushing for them to make screening windows longer, tickets cheaper, and include fewer pre-show ads.

“Admissions have clearly been down from pre-COVID, and if we’re going to fix that, which we can, we all have urgent work to do. I urge you all now to make some hard choices for the long term rather than the short term.”

John Higgins
John Higgins
Sony has officially confirmed what we knew about its RGB LED TV.

As expected from the trademark filing late last year, Sony’s RGB LED technology will be called “True RGB” and is coming this spring. The new TV (Bravia 10, or better yet, Bravia X?) has been impressive in demos. We’ll see soon how it compares to competitors’ RGB TVs this year.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Sony working to fight Ghibli-infringing slop.

Alongside building tools to identify AI song sources, Sony’s R&D division is reportedly training its own “Protective AI” model on content from Studio Ghibli films, which are popular fodder for generated imitation. Sony hasn’t decided what it’ll do with the model (yet), but it’s designed to eventually stop AI from ripping off any protected content.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Sony develops tech to identify source material for AI songs.

It can apparently recognize how much influence a given track or artist had on AI content, and can work with or without cooperation from AI developers. Sony thinks it could be used to create a licensing system for AI music, but “has yet to decide” when it might be put to use.

Tom Warren
Tom Warren
Sony has now shipped 92.2 million PS5 consoles.

Sony shipped 8 million PS5 consoles over the recent holiday quarter. While that’s down 16 percent year-over-year, it’s still nearly the same amount of PS4 shipments Sony managed during the same period of its lifecycle. In fact, VGC points out that the PS5 has been pretty much aligned with Sony’s PS4 shipments in the months since its launch.

Image: VGC