Sony seems determined to bring the Walkman, a former favourite device of music lovers, into the present
We've been hearing about the "comeback" of Walkman-style portable audio players for a few years now. But it remained the domain of select manufacturers and audiophiles driven by nostalgia rather than a mainstream phenomenon embraced by industry giants. But Sony has recently started producing them again. Will it be the ultimate cool music accessory?
For a long time, listening to music mainly took place at home, if not in a dedicated location like a nightclub or live performance venue. It wasn't until Sony's Walkman was launched in 1979 as a compact cassette player that personal music listening entered the public space. But smartphones have gradually replaced the pocket MP3 players thanks to the advent of online listening platforms. These accounted for 62% of the sector's global turnover in 2021, according to figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.