The Verge (Andru) reviewed two new cassette players and a CD player, all of which were made with high-quality materials and featured modern circuitry and software.
This new technology shows familiar parallels to modern film cameras, all of which show the same drawbacks:
Consider Minolta TC-1 (analog.cafe/r/minolta-tc-1…), the world’s smallest full-frame camera. Yes, it’s smaller than the smallest full-frame digital camera in 2025, and it’s made with a titanium shell. Compared to the top-of-the-line iPhone, which features the thinnest titanium coating on its edges you can imagine, TC-1 is more valuable. Could Ricoh have achieved this level of quality, design, and performance on the same production line that their Pentax 17 (analog.cafe/comments/ssin) was manufactured on? Absolutely not.
(Ricoh/Pentax is the biggest manufacturer that took on a modern film camera design to date.)
The best products on the planet require the same level of investment, regardless of whether they utilize modern or vintage technology.
But with enough continuous investment and modern innovation, maybe with setting the specs to earlier vintage years, I think that some retro-modern products can get close. Some examples are Rollei 35AF (analog.cafe/r/film-photogr…) and Instax WIDE Evo (analog.cafe/comments/427m).
Dmitri 5:07PM, edited on 5:08PM