This Week at Mark Ellis Reviews

👋 It’s been an exciting week, so I’m getting straight to it. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have seen that Samsung released the first ‘thin phone’ of the impending phone thickness arms race (Apple is expected to release the iPhone Air this year, in case you didn’t know). And then Sony dropped by with the new WH-1000XM6 headphones…for a lot of money. I’d love your thoughts!

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Sony listened. And I’m very happy they did.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said that the Sony XM4 (they have a longer name, but I don’t want to take up this entire newsletter with it) headphones are my favourite noise-cancellers ever. If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you’re probably sick to death of hearing me utter those words.

But they are. The combination of price, audio quality, noise-cancelling prowess, and the best case on the market, is the reason you still see so many of them out in the wild today.

There are a fair few XM5s knocking about, too. The successor to the XM4 arrived three years ago and was met with a fairly tepid reception from both fans and reviewers like myself. The sound wasn’t as good. The design was modern and lightweight, but felt flimsy. The noise cancelling was, thankfully, still the best out there. But the case ruined those headphones. I was genuinely upset about it; the result of that humongous case was that I never adopted the XM5 full-time as my daily headphones.

I’ve waited three years for their replacement and my prayers have finally been answered in the form of the Sony XM6 (they also have a longer name… you get the picture). You can find my full review on the Mark Ellis Reviews YouTube channel, but I thought I’d also delve into a few more thoughts on these cans in this week’s Tech Diary video. So, there’s plenty of XM6 content from yours truly to chow down on - and lots more on the way.

Spoiler: Sony listened and made changes. Some big (irony overload), others nothing more than highly considerate tweaks. Add them up, however, and we have something significantly impressive on our hands (or heads).

BYTE-SIZED NEWS

This Week’s Top Tech Headlines

📈 iPhone 17 Price Might Rise This Year
Are the years of Apple price freezes over? It looks likely, but apparently it has nothing to do with tariffs…

🎉 Sony Xperia 1 VII Launches with New Camera Hardware and AI Processing
People often overlook Sony phones, but I liked the previous Xperia V1 and this one sounds even better.

🤖 Android 16 Announced With New Lockdown Mode And Refreshed Look
This one caused quite a stir with Google’s choice to introduce colours to Android 16, oh and there’s a lot of borrowing from iOS going on.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Last week, I asked you how often you upgrade your tech and here are the results:

My heart is warmed by the number of you that hang on to your devices until the bitter end. As a tech reviewer, I obviously have to use the latest stuff, but I’d definitely fall into the ‘When it dies or explodes’ category if this weren’t my job.

BEST BUYS

3 Headphone Picks

There are so many choices out there for headphones, but deciding on a budget and use case helps cut through the noise. I’m not exactly sure where the XM6 sit on my broader best headphones list just yet, I need to use them for longer first, but here are my quick picks for different wants and needs:

1. Best Overall: Bose QuietComfort - You can’t go wrong with Bose audio gear and the QuietComfort blend value for money with excellent sound quality and good noise cancelling. An old reliable pair.

2. Best Budget: OneOdio Focus A5 - These cost less than $70/£60 and you won’t find better for the same price. Simple.

3. Best Premium: Focal Bathys - If you want top-tier sound quality, you’d be hard pressed to beat the Bathys. It comes at a hefty price tag though…

Just a note to say that these are affiliate links, meaning I may earn from them, but they are genuinely all products that I love and use in my own setup!

FIRST LOOK

Hands-on with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge – Apple Should Be Worried!

It’s already dividing opinion and most people haven’t even touched one yet. Well, I have and…I’m still not sure about it. There’s no doubt that this is an excellently constructed phone that looks and feels very premium and, yes, thin. Watch for my first impressions and stick around for my full review in the coming weeks! I’ll have determined whether thinner is better by then.

NEED TO KNOW

Tip Of The Week

👉 iOS tip: Silently ignore a call – If your phone is unlocked, swipe up on an incoming call to send it away without hanging up—it’ll stay in the top-left corner in case you want to answer later. Tap it to bring back the full call screen.

TOP FINDS

What Had Me Glued to YouTube…

👉 The Android Show: I/O Edition | Device Showcase | Nothing (Android) - The Nothing Phone (3) is on the way this summer, and CEO Carl Pei has just dropped the biggest hint yet at how much it might cost. I met him recently on stage at the CMF Phone 2 Pro launch event in India. Seemed like a nice chap.

⚙️ Richard Hammond VS James May – Plane vs Car RACE! (DRIVETRIBE) - I’m seeing an increasing number of Top Gear-style videos on DRIVETRIBE, and I’m totally here for it. This one certainly gives you the ‘feels’ if you were a Top Gear fan.

🍎 A conversation with Jony Ive (Stripe) - I’m only halfway through this one, but it’s such an engaging and interesting interview with one of Apple’s most fascinating ex-employees (what? I can call him that now, can’t I?!).

🍕 New York City Lunch Crisis (Casey Neistat) - This time, Casey turns the search for a more convenient way of arranging lunch with your mates into yet another YouTube storytelling masterclass. Bonkers good.

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. It’s another few weeks of travel lined up ahead for me, which means exciting stuff on the horizon. Enjoy your weekend!

~ Mark