Sony is Relaunching the Walkman as a Hi-Res Streaming Player

Two new editions of the legendary Sony Walkman are releasing soon –  NW-A300 and NW-ZX700 – which are also Androids.

Don't call it a comeback. The legendary Sony Walkman is returning in Android form with the NW-A300 and NW-ZX700, both which allow users to "access multiple music playing apps on the Google Play Store," per TechtheLead. At a reported cost of $430 USD, the NW-A300 version is a spinoff of the 2019 Walkman, now including an improved chipset and longer battery life.

A handheld device, at just 56.6×98.5×12 mm, the has a NW-A300 3.6-inch, 60 Hz, 1280×720 touchscreen LCD. There's also 32GB of storage and the device supports Wi-Fi 802.11AC and Bluetooth 5.

Also arriving with the NW-A300 is the much larger NW-ZX700, at 72.6 x 132 x 17mm, which includes an 5-inch screen and high polymer capacitor amplifier to "improve sound expression and create a smoother sound, with a wider sound space, more transparency and tighter bass," per The Walkman Blog.

As seen in a teaser video for the sleek digital music player, the NW-ZX700 (retailed at $820 USD) also has a USB Type-C port, is compatible with Wi-Fi and also has a 4.4mm audio jack for headphones. The NW-A300 has a similar audio port, spot for a lanyard, a microSD slot and physical buttons for most controls.

The upcoming Walkman release comes eight months after Apple ended their long-running line of iPods, ending with the iPod Touch before the entire line was discontinued in May 2022. With Walkmans making a resurgence, it's reasonable to predict that Apple may ultimately resurrect the iPod.