Philips introduced the compact audio cassette format at a 1963 Berlin electronics exhibition.
The Dutch electronics company developed the cassette in the early 1960s as a small, simple format for recording and playing sound. Philips presented the system publicly at the Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin in 1963, and the first commercial cassette players appeared soon afterward.
Unlike reel-to-reel tape systems, the compact cassette enclosed its magnetic tape in a cartridge. This made handling easier and helped the format spread through homes, cars, schools, and portable music players. Philips also licensed the technology widely, which encouraged compatibility between manufacturers.
The compact cassette is sometimes credited solely to later music brands because portable players and prerecorded albums made it famous. However, Philips created and introduced the format itself; Sony’s Walkman, launched in 1979, popularized portable cassette listening but did not invent the cassette.