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Sony’s USB-C remake of the 1979 MDR-3 needs no charging or pairing, and a Stranger Things Edition launches alongside it.
Sony will sell the MDR-3R in the UAE from December 2026, a USB-C wired remake of the 1979 MDR-3 headphones introduced alongside the first Walkman. A Stranger Things Edition will launch alongside it.
Sony says you plug them straight into a USB-C port, and the built-in microphone and in-line remote handle calls and playback.
Under the retro shell, Sony uses the same 23 mm driver units as the MDR-3, with what it calls “subtle refinements” for modern listening. The lightweight, open-ear design returns, and the box includes the original’s blue and orange ear pads, so you can swap between them. Even the packaging and instruction manual copy the 1979 model.
No charging, pairing, or updates are required—just plug them in and enjoy music or videos instantly.
The Stranger Things Edition, based on Netflix’s series, adds an engraved Stranger Things logo and custom packaging, drawing on Max’s headphone style and the Upside Down. Sony’s Middle East page shows it with red-and-black earpads. Sony says about 25% of the headphones’ plastic is recycled, and the packaging is plastic-free.
Sony’s regional release doesn’t list a UAE price, an exact date, or shops; it points buyers to official Sony retailers. In the US, Sony launched the MDR-3R in early November at $59.99, with the Stranger Things Edition at $79.99. That puts the standard model among the headphones for readers on a budget, and well below the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds, another USB-C wired option at $99.
Sony says wired headphones are being rediscovered for their simplicity, and the MDR-3R leans into that. When it launches in December, it will join headphones on sale in the UAE, and the UAE price will decide where it sits among them.
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Abbas has been covering tech for more than two decades- before phones became smart or clouds stored data. He brought publications like CNET, TechRadar and IGN to the Middle East. From computers to mobile phones and watches, Abbas is always interested in tech that is smarter and smaller because he believes that tech shouldn’t be something that gets added to your life- rather, it should add to your life.
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