Wild how new models of reel2reel decks, record turntables, and compact cassettes have been making a comeback. Ive seen this one before..
I'm not shopping for a hand held cassette player (or any cassette player) but if I were, this would be the portable cassette I'd be taking a closer look at - after reading this indepth review in Wired about it:
(As shown for $159 on Amazon) https://www.wired.com/review/review-rewind-cassette-player /
Review: Rewind Cassette Player
This high-end modern cassette player is better than vintage for tape heads.
....When it comes to portable cassette players, you have the unpleasant choice of paying $300 for a very nice restored Walkman from Japan on eBay and praying the pinch rollers don't fail a week after its journey across the Pacific, or buying a $20 cheapie on Amazon from a brand with an all-caps name and hoping it doesn't shred your $25 tape......
... wouldn't recommend either when you can buy this cassette player from the French company Rewind.
If you're getting into tapes, the Rewind player is the best cassette player I've found by a healthy margin. It sounds great, and has enough battery life to listen to everything the Beatles ever released on a single charge. It's a big, sturdy player that has performed flawlessly after more than a year of testing....
https://www.wired.com/review/review-rewind-cassette-player /