There is a word that suddenly brings back our youth to those of us with gray hair: walkman. That gadget that you hung on your belt, with the yellow sponge headphones and that it was for an entire generation the first time that music fit in your pocket.

sonythe brand that invented the walkmankeeps this alive iconic device in full 2026. It’s not the same one as cassettes, of course, but it’s still called walkman and continues to have the same purpose as always, which is deliver music with quality that no cell phone can reach.

Today’s models are something else. Have touch screenthey connect to the internet, they allow downloading Spotify either YouTube Musicthey keep thousands of songs and boast of a ultra high fidelity soundas clean and detailed as the artist recorded it. sony is already preparing one new version for the end of this year, and those who know about audio They look forward to it. Of course, it is not cheap, because the taste for it good sound It costs, and these devices easily cost over two or three million pesos.

But more than the new devicewhat moves me is what it represents, and I think it moves you too.

He original walkman came out in 1979almost fifty years ago, and sold more than 400 million units in the world. For those of us who grew up with him, he wasn’t just a player, he was a way of living music that was lost today. One recorded his cassettes with the patience of a monk, waiting for hours in front of the radio to capture favorite songpraying that the announcer wouldn’t talk over the end.

One armed the bride cassette with dedication, choosing topic by topic, because give a cassette it was almost a declaration of love. And when tangled the tapeit was time to take it out carefully and return it with a penin that ritual that anyone of my generation remembers with a smile.

Today we have all the world music on your cell phonefree or almost, just by asking for it. And yes, it is wonderful, I am not going to deny it. But something was lost along the way, and it is value of what it costs to get. When one had ten cassetteshe knew them by heart, he cared for them, he loved them. Now we have millions of songs and we don’t even remember the one that played yesterday.

That’s why I’m glad that walkman continue to exist, even if it is for a few lovers of good sound. Not so much because of the device, but because of what it reminds us of. That there was a time when music was heard with full attentionwithout notifications that interruptwithout jumping from song to song every fifteen seconds, sitting on the bed with eyes closed, letting a entire album will tell us a story from beginning to end.

Maybe we don’t need to buy the new walkman to get that back. Maybe we just need, from time to time, to go back to listen to a complete songwithout effort, as was done before. Because the good musicJust like the good things in life, they are enjoyed more when you lend them all the attention.

And that, friends, is one technology that never goes out of style.

Written by

Milton L. Porras T.

Published July 24, 2026 · 3:00 pm

Software Engineer – Technology / AI Writing