Daily Authority: ???? The Sony empire grows

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Sony’s Game Pass?

I’m digging Sony today: The Acquired podcast had a deep dive I listened to over the weekend (it’s three hours long!), which included loads of backstory and touched on why most people think a little bit fondly of Sony:

• Nostalgia for the Walkman or some Hi-Fi set, or they own a PlayStation or had one in the past, and so on…
• Anyway, the podcast touches on all the reasons Sony is great (hardware) and terrible (software: have you ever used a menu system on a Sony Alpha camera? Whew), and how that lack of cohesion has given Apple plenty of leeway to grow.
• But it’s what Sony does today that generates a large portion of its revenue that’s also in the news: gaming (about 30% of its revenue) and electronics (about 23% of its revenue), which includes imaging and sensors.

So, to the news:

• The largest-ever Sony smartphone camera sensor just leaked.
• The Sony Exmor IMX800, as it’s expected to be called, could be a 50MP sensor sized at 1/1.1 inches.
• That would be the largest from the brand, though Leica put a bigger sensor into a niche smartphone last year.
• The rumors suggest it might come in phones like the Xiaomi 12 Ultra, later this year.
• And it is critical for Sony, because it needs to stay ahead, and it needs to convince Apple to keep buying its camera sensors.
• Which is also topical: Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple’s next Pro-model phone, the iPhone 14 Pro would upgrade “the rear camera to 48MP,” which would mean a “more-prominent camera bump” on the back.
• A 48MP image sensor could potentially be this IMX800, or the already-launched Sony IMX789, or IMX689, or a specific chip for Apple, with rumors that TSMC would make whichever chip it is. Apple has sufficient clout to get a custom chip, you’d think.
• Regardless of the actual chip name and details, it would be Apple’s first change to its imaging sensor in seven years.

And, Sony Game Pass is nearly here:

• A report from Bloomberg suggests Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass is set to be announced as early as this week.
• While Sony has PlayStation Now, which gifts subscribers free games, it’s nothing as comprehensive or useful as Xbox Game Pass.
• Quotes:
• Sony service “will debut with a splashy lineup of hit games from recent years,” said the people, who requested anonymity because the plans are private.
• “Sony’s new service will combine two of its current offerings, PlayStation Now and PlayStation Plus. Customers will be able to choose from multiple tiers offering catalogs of modern games and classics from older PlayStation eras.”
• “…the most expensive tier will also give players access to extended demos and the ability to stream games over the internet.”
• So, get set for Sony’s new gaming service…

Roundup:

???? OnePlus 10R leaked specs suggest it’s a Realme in disguise (Android Authority).

???? “If the Nothing Phone 1 isn’t cheap, it will fail” (Android Authority).

???? Glass rethinks the smartphone camera through an old-school cinema lens: anamorphic lenses, on smartphones? Ex-Apple guys think it’s one way to get effectively much bigger sensors, with some drawbacks (TechCrunch).

Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor