Sony is rolling out a fresh addition to its Walkman family, the NW-A306. This new model comes 44 years after Sony released the original Walkman, the TPS-L2, which changed how we listen to music: since that initial release, the Sony Walkman has sold over 400 million units, with 200 million being cassette players.
But portable music devices have come a long way from cassette tapes and high-speed copying, and Sony’s NW-A306 delivers a hefty dose of modernity to a nostalgic piece of technology.
Sony says the NW-A306 is designed for “discerning users looking for high-quality sound and style,” making true music lovers the target audience.
Users can only download music and subscription-based music-streaming apps, such as YouTube and Spotify. For now, the newest Walkman is only available in Europe beginning this month.
The Walkman is compact and lightweight, weighing 113 grams, sporting a 3.6-inch touchscreen, and offering Bluetooth connectivity. Listeners can enjoy up to 26 hours with a music service app on the Walkman and up to 36 hours of 44.1KHz FLAC playback. Sony says it uses artificial intelligence to enhance the quality of compressed digital music files, uses S-Master HX technology to reduce distortion, and employs a reflow solder to improve sound localization.
And as a neat touch for those of us particularly nostalgic for their first Walkman, the NW-A306’s screensaver displays a cassette tape. While the days of recording your favorite song off the radio and onto your Walkman might be gone, users can download their favorite songs to the Walkman’s library.
But with the ubiquity of smartphones, what’s the need for a music player? After all, last year, Apple discontinued manufacturing and selling the final iteration of its portable music player, the iPod Touch.
Nowadays, everyone has a smartphone in their pocket with which they can listen to music, watch videos, text, and call from the same device. So, why would anyone be interested in a $375 device that only plays music?
January 12, 2023
Written by Min Shin