Magnetic recording heads fabricated using magnetic thin films have a number of well‐known advantages over conventional heads. The magnetoresistive effect in thin permalloy films is especially attractive for the read function, because the signal amplitude available (about 40 mV per mm, of track width) is speed independent and is larger at all practical speeds than the output of comparably complex inductive film heads. Previously reported magnetoresistive heads have not been successfully used for high density magnetic recording because they lacked one or more of three essential ingredients: A reliable magnetoresistive stripe, a shielding magnetic yoke structure to provide linear resolution, and a magnetic bias method compatible with the shields. This paper will present data and analysis for the first such structure, and will discuss the present level of understanding of such transducers.