:strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_08fbf48bc0524877943fe86e43087e7a/internal_photos/bs/2023/K/5/tsxOvjTCKvEajFvHf6hQ/02-gallery-01-2400x1350.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
A sony Honda Mobility showed off its first brand new electric car prototype Afeela, which will have the PlayStation 5 experience (PS5) built into your system, as well as movies, music, and other media options. The vehicle was presented by the CEO of the joint venture between Sony and Honda, Yasuhide Mizuno, during a company conference for the electronics fair CES extension 2023, held between January 5 and 8 in Las Vegas, USA.
Afeela has a spring 2026 launch window in the US (fall in Brazil) with presales expected in the first half of 2025. It is worth mentioning that, prior to the announcement, an executive had already indicated that the two Japanese giants had the intend to combine mobility and entertainment through an integrated console.
👉 PS Plus: How do I download free games? Watch it on the TechTudo Forum
The concept of a car with “integrated” PlayStation 5 (PS5) had already been revived by Sony Honda Mobility president Izumi Kawanishi, however it is unclear whether the vehicle will actually have the console hardware or if it intends to offer the experience streaming to the cloud. According to Sony’s presentation, the company focuses on offering entertainment during transport, which is changing with the introduction of self-driving cars.
Competing manufacturers are also already in the running for the dispute, with the Tesla engines what intend to add support to Vapor in the car and Nvidia what will take the streaming service Do GeForce now for vehicles of HyundaiBYD and Polestar.
Among other details, the Afeela will have a level 3 autonomous driving capability, where the vehicle is able to take control in certain situations such as traffic jams, but the driver must take over the driving when required. It will be equipped with 45 cameras, most of them external to avoid accidents, but also internal to monitor the driver’s status.
Afeela will be able to play movies, music and games with one processor Leon’s mouth and Qualcomm on your system and will use Unreal Engine from Epic games to view information more intuitively. On the outside front of the car there will be a “Media Bar”, a strip that displays various information such as the weather forecast, battery charge level or even the movie being watched inside the vehicle.
The car presented by Sony is very similar to the Vision S shown 3 years ago at CES 2020, when the company said it would not enter the car business. According to The Verge, Afeela will have a competitive premium price compared to other existing brands, such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Volvo and Audi. Launch plans will start with the United States, followed by Japan and then Europe. Sony also said it plans to offer subscription services for the vehicle, with no details on what features will be offered.
