Maxwells new portable cassette player

Be kind rewind!

So forget Spotify playlists Maxell wants you to fall in love with analogue sound all over again. And yes, there's USB-C charging and Bluetooth built in.

The OG brand has created something beautifully contradictory: a Walkman that brings cassette nostalgia into the modern world. USB-C charging and Bluetooth 5.0 mean you can listen to those vintage mixtapes through AirPods whilst still getting that satisfying click of slotting in a tape.

Here's the thing about physical objects, they anchor you to actual moments in your life. Digital music is brilliant, but it's essentially bottomless. Everything just floats in the cloud, weightless and forgettable.

But blowing dust off a needle? Rewinding a cassette tape with a pencil when the mechanism inevitably broke? Recording your own mixtapes with that perfect pause between tracks? That's proper connection right there. These rituals matter because they force you to slow down, to be deliberate about what you're listening to.

I remember spending ages with a pencil, carefully winding tape back save batteries. It was annoying at the time, but somehow that effort made the music more precious. You couldn't just skip to the next song, you had to commit.

Maxell's new player understands this perfectly. The transparent plastic shell lets you watch the reels spin, pure '80s theatre meeting modern convenience. Rechargeable battery via USB-C sorts the practical stuff, whilst Bluetooth means you're not tied to wired headphones (though there's a 3.5mm jack for purists).

Vinyl staged its comeback. Film photography never really disappeared. Now cassettes are having their moment, and it makes perfect sense. Sometimes the best way forward is a deliberate step back.

Might try and grab one when I'm in Tokyo next week.

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Inspiration by Mark