Sony Debuts a New EV Prototype Called Afeela at CES 2023

Sony debuts a new EV Prototype called Afeela at CES 2023 which was held in Las Vegas

At the annual CES 2023 in Las Vegas on January 5th, Sony debuts a new EV prototype, Afeela, that will go on sale as early as 2026. The popular PlayStation VR 2 headset will be on sale on February 22 according to the Japanese electronics behemoth. Along with the Gran Turismo movie trailer and the Afeela electric vehicle, Sony also unveiled Project Leonardo, a new accessibility controller kit compatible with the PS5.

This year's CES may have been the source of the greatest news thanks to a Sony automobile called "Afeela," an electric vehicle. The new EV prototype, which was created in partnership with Honda as a Sony Mobility subsidiary, will make its public debut in 2026 and use Qualcomm technology. Preorders for the vehicle will be on sale in the first half of 2025, according to Sony, with deliveries beginning in North America in early 2026.

Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, stated during a keynote address at CES that "Afeela represents our concept of an interactive relationship where people feel the sensation of interactive mobility and where mobility can detect and understand people and society by utilizing sensing and AI technologies."

Sony, famous for products like the Walkman, PlayStation, and Trinitron TVs, has been developing an electric vehicle for several years. A prototype of the Vision-S 01 was unveiled by Sony at CES in 2020, while the Vision-S 02 was unveiled at the same event the following year. In particular, in North America, both Honda and Sony are placing significant bets on the future of electric automobiles.

The future of Sony's electric vehicle is uncertain, particularly in light of the fierce competition in the EV market today. Afeela's introduction puts Sony ahead of Apple, which is said to be developing an electric vehicle. However, creating and developing an electric vehicle is quite expensive. The British manufacturer Dyson, widely known for its vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, had been developing a line of electric automobiles but opted to discontinue development because of the exorbitant cost.

On February 22, Sony will release its PlayStation VR 2 headgear, which needs a PlayStation 5 to function. High-end virtual reality system PSVR 2, which Sony marketed at $550, has greater specifications than the $400 market leader Meta's Quest 2. At least 30 titles, including Gran Turismo 7 and a spin-off of its well-known robot-animal-hunter action-adventure series Horizon, have been promised by Sony for the PSVR's debut. This is Sony's second foray into the market for virtual reality. Sony released its first PSVR headset for the PlayStation 4 in 2016 for $400. Recently, virtual reality has taken off, and Sony wants to be recognized as a major participant. Sony is hoping the new PlayStation VR 2 will be successful given how deeply brands like the PlayStation are ingrained in society.

The accessibility controller kit for the PlayStation 5 is presently under development and is called Project Leonardo. Project Leonardo is mostly unknown; however, Sony claims the controller will "eliminate obstacles to gaming and let gamers with impairments play more freely, more comfortably, and for longer periods on PS5" We do, however, know that game developers, community members, and accessibility specialists all had input into the creation of the unique controller. Microsoft also provides the Xbox Adaptive controller, which enables those with limited movement to play video games.