FIIO 2025 New Product Schedule(3)-Portable HiFi Music Player
Recently, you may heard of the big news that a certain renowned international audio brand has been acquired by a real estate company. Additionally, based on private discussions with industry insiders, a well-known Japanese brand currently has no plans to update its portable player lineup.
Meanwhile, domestic brands are also withdrawing from the portable player market. Even FIIO itself only launched two models in 2024: the M23 and JM21.
We won’t analyze external factors here. Instead, I’ll explain the reasons behind the industry's downturn from FIIO’s perspective.
1. The return on investment is getting lower and lower.
Simply put, developing portable players requires significant investment but yields diminishing returns. This is especially true for Android-based players, where adopting a new platform costs millions. Moreover, system software, underlying software, driver development, UI, app development, structure, hardware, and industrial design all require a large number of engineers. Portable players are among the most complex products, demanding the highest level of engineering effort.
2. Technological progress has stagnated, or even come to a halt.
The Snapdragon 660/665 has been used for who knows how many years. The DAC options remain limited to ESS, AKM, and CSS chips. In terms of functionality, everything that could be added has already been implemented.
As a result, manufacturers are resorting to features like vacuum tubes, R2R DACs, or experimenting with different casing materials. However, these elements can’t define the industry’s mainstream direction, which are merely better than nothing.
3. Homogeneous product designs
Perhaps due to the inherent constraints of portable players, most devices now look similar—a rectangular shape with only minor variations.
With the maturation of two major chipset platforms that FIIO has heavily invested in over the past two years and the return of our pure audio series, 2025 is set to be a fruitful year for FIIO’s portable players.
I. Pure Audio Series
Starting with the ECHO MINI, FIIO has made a grand return to pure audio players after years of absence, and it has been a hit. In 2025, we will continue introducing multiple pure audio players, including:
1. ECHO NANO
A more compact and affordable version of the ECHO MINI, this pocket-sized HiFi player is expected to be released by the end of the year.
2. ECHO
Designed based on user demand, this model is positioned above the ECHO MINI in the pure audio lineup and is expected to launch in the fall.
3. DISCUE
A high-end pure audio player based on the X2000 chipset from Ingenic. It offers higher-level functionality and performance than the ECHO series and features a retro design with a fresh take on product aesthetics.
II. Android Series
Starting with the JM21, all of FIIO’s Android portable players will feature upgraded main chipsets. The mid-to-low-end models will primarily use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chip, while the mid-to-high-end models will feature a cutting-edge Qualcomm chipset that leads the industry by a wide margin.
If you’re planning to buy an Android-based portable player in 2025, hold off and see what FIIO has in store! The JM21 and M21, which use the Snapdragon 680, are just warm-up acts— the real flagship is yet to come.
Now, let’s take a look at FIIO’s planned portable player releases for 2025.
1. M21
The M21 made its first public appearance at the recent Shanghai Headphone Expo. It features the Snapdragon 680 chipset, a new quad-ES43918 matrix DAC, desktop mode, and a high-power headphone amplifier. Additionally, we designed a retro-style cassette tape protective case for it.
This design has received widespread acclaim from audiophiles. The M21 is expected to launch in April at a highly competitive price, similar to the JM21.
2. M27
This model was initially scheduled for a late 2024 release but has been significantly delayed. However, the M27 is the true king of 2025. We can reveal that it will feature a next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 7-series chipset, a replaceable battery, dual microSD card slots, a standard optical output, and ESS’s flagship DAC.
The M27 is expected to launch around June. The delay was intentional, as we wanted to fine-tune its sound quality and user experience to perfection.
3. M25
This is the successor to the M15S. Currently, it is still in the planning stage and is expected to launch around December. It will feature the same chipset as the M27. However, since the design and specifications are still under discussion, we can’t reveal much at this point.
What we can say is that we aim to make this model sound even better, offer a superior user experience, and incorporate a more exciting design.
We are optimistic about our portable players in 2025. This is the natural outcome of the hard work we’ve put in over the past two years. Our goal is to achieve an overwhelming lead in product capabilities—not just compared to our competitors but even surpassing our own past achievements. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have invested so much capital and manpower into developing so many new products.
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