Sony is a big company with loads of divisions, and for every one that knows how to name its products--like PlayStation--there are others that have long committed crimes against the very concept of human communication.
The audio teams are particularly notorious for this. I own an excellent pair of Sony wireless earbuds, the WF-1000XM4s (pictured above), but as long as I've owned them I've been unable to really sing their praises because every time someone asks me what they're called I have no idea. I can't remember that shit! Making things worse is that every time I think I can come close to remembering it, I google it and get a ton of results for the WH-1000XM4s, which are over-ear headphones that are a completely different product.
Anyone who owns--or has even shopped for--everything from TVs to soundbars will have similar frustrations, which is why it's wonderful news to hear that Sony, finally brought around to the idea that those were all stupid names, has announced plans to start simplifying things. As Engadget reports, a new line of TVs will be simply called stuff like the "Bravia 7" and "Bravia 9", while some speakers formerly known as SRS-XV900, SRS-XG300 and WH-CH720N will have updated releases called ULT Tower, ULT Field and ULT Wear instead.
While the old codename-style product names had a certain utility to them, especially for devoted Sony fans--each letter and number actually meant something within the context of the field--for normal human beings those are names you would associate with replacement car parts or sci-fi weapons, not mainstream consumer electronics.
A rep told Engadget "The main reason for Sony’s new naming convention is to expand recognition by adopting a more memorable and understandable name for customers", which, look, I'm just a guy who writes on the internet, not a highly-paid corporate branding expert, but that seems like it should have been a priority...a long time ago?
Anyway, who cares, it's getting fixed! And the days of me trying to recommend a pair of earbuds only to sound like I'm trying to talk about IRS tax paperwork are now over.
Thanks to ajdragoon from the Aftermath Discord for sharing!
