Sony Walkman NW-WM1ZM3 costs $5,899 in gold-plated copper

Sony announced three new high-end Walkman music players on October 15, 2026, led by the NW-WM1ZM3 at $5,899, which has a gold-plated copper body. The NW-WM1AM3 costs $2,999.99 and the NW-ZX900 costs $1,899.99. US pre-orders opened the same day. It matters because Sony is betting that some listeners will still pay phone-level or higher prices for a device that only plays music.

The three players

Sony's announcement sets out the lineup:

Model	US price	Screen	Battery, per Sony
NW-WM1ZM3	$5,899	5.5 inches	Up to 35 hours
NW-WM1AM3	$2,999.99	5.5 inches	Up to 35 hours
NW-ZX900	$1,899.99	5 inches	Up to 40 hours

Battery figures are for music played through Sony's own app. Sony quotes up to 31 hours for the two WM1 models in offline streaming mode, and up to 35 hours for the ZX900 in streaming apps. AudioHead notes that the streaming figures assume offline playback, not continuous Wi-Fi streaming.

All three run Android, The Next Web reports, and the ZX900 moves from Android 12 to Android 16. The ZX900's screen also rises from 720p to 1080p.

What the money buys

The flagship's main body is machined from 99.99% pure oxygen-free copper and plated in gold, and even its screws get a gold treatment, Sony says. The copper is meant to cut electrical noise. The Next Web reports that it weighs 670 g, up from 490 g on the model it replaces.

Inside, the two WM1 models gain two high-grade capacitors instead of one and hand-soldered copper wiring. All three use Sony's S-Master HX digital amplifier.

All three also get a DSD Remastering Engine. It converts ordinary digital music into an 11.2 MHz DSD stream, a high-resolution audio format. AudioHead points out that this conversion does not turn a normal file into a true native DSD recording.

Dates, rivals and Europe

Sony's release gives no shipping dates. Ecoustics lists December 7, 2026 for the ZX900 and WM1AM3, and January 12, 2027 for the WM1ZM3. Ecoustics also lists storage of 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB across the range, with microSD cards up to 2 TB, but those figures are not in Sony's release.

Rivals cost less. The Next Web lists Astell & Kern's SP4000 at $4,290 and Cayin's N8iii at $3,999, both well below the Sony flagship.

Sony has not said when the players come to Europe. The Next Web notes that their sealed design may clash with an EU rule that requires user-replaceable batteries from February 18, 2027.

What this means for developers

For Android developers, these are niche but real devices. They run Android 16 with Sony's music app and third-party streaming apps from Google Play, so audio apps should be tested on high-resolution output paths and balanced headphone jacks.

For companies selling consumer hardware, the Walkman shows a common premium playbook: a known brand, exotic materials and a price far above rivals. Watch for reviews that measure whether the copper chassis and DSD conversion change the sound, since every audio claim here comes from Sony.

For teams that ship devices in Europe, the battery point matters beyond Sony. The EU's replaceable-battery rule arrives in 2027, and any sealed portable product will need a plan for it.