Most of the technologies we use today have completely taken over what were once considered pioneering devices just a few decades ago. Technology is constantly changing and once-cutting-edge gadgets, are now so outdated that they’re not even manufactured anymore. (Though some outdated technologies have enjoyed revivals — such as vinyl records, instant cameras, and even cassette tapes). This outdated technology we once couldn’t live without is now mostly forgotten, replaced by newer and better.
Even smartphones were once considered state-of-the-art, but the tech evolution, spearheaded by companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung, now gives us a newer, updated model yearly, with each new version bringing the older ones that much closer to being obsolete. Almost every gadget currently used has an earlier version that changed how people live. Many products today would not exist without their predecessors.
To compile a list of outdated technology we once couldn’t live without, 24/7 Tempo reviewed company websites, reference materials, and media sources, and considered products invented mostly over the last century that once significantly changed how people perform tasks or communicate.
This post was updated on October 7, 2025 to clarify the release dates of both the Watchman portable tv and DVDs, 8-track’s primary use in cars, ARPANET’s transition, number of Walkman’s sold, current use of tape drives, and the video component of Betamax.
Stereo 8
Stereo 8 was the official name, but most people know it as the 8-track tape. Millions used 8-tracks in cars and home players during the 1960s–70s. In the ’80s the cassette tape took over, and by the 1990s the 8-track tape was pretty much an antique.
Dial-Up Modem
Before cable internet and WiFi, Americans used their analog telephones to connect to the internet. After dialing a number, the computer would use the modem (short for modulator-demodulator) to send and receive information to another computer.
Dial-up connections were slow and tied up the phone line, but generally stable for their time. The downside was that the connection was often slow, and connection drops sometimes occurred due to line noise or incoming calls. Additionally, the phone could not be used to make regular calls at the same time.
Wang Calculator
The Wang calculator revolutionized electronic calculators. Introduced in the mid-1960s, Wang’s electronic calculators were among the first to handle complex math (square root and raising numbers to power) electronically and helped transition offices from slide rules to digital computation.
Walkman
Remember when rewinding and fast-forwarding took longer than an instant? Walkman players, which launched in 1979, allowed users to listen to cassette tapes while on the go. Through the mid 80s and into the early 90s, they were the It thing in portable music. Sony sold about 220 million cassette-based Walkmans, way before the iPod.
Portable TV
Sony was the first company to mass-produce portable televisions when it released the Sony Watchman in 1982. They were never a huge hit due to their limited number of channels.
Pager
Before cell phones, people used pagers, also called “beepers,” when they needed to reach someone right away. Early pagers displayed phone numbers to call back; text and email functions appeared later in the 1990s.
Because pagers remain one of the most reliable forms of communication available, some doctors still use them when on call. There is no delay in delivery, the network doesn’t get overloaded, and there are no dead zones.
Discman
The Discman, or portable CD player, was for those who liked to listen to music on the go. Portable CD players were first invented in 1984 by Sony, and they took off in the mid-1990s. Compared to what’s available today, Discman players were too limited because they could only play one CD at a time and required carrying more CDs for more music variety.
Floppy Disk
Floppy disk drives were around long before the cloud, thumb drives, and other portable memory devices. Now basically an antique, it was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. As is the case with most personal computing devices, the memory has increased with time.
The most common floppy disks in the 1990s held 1.44 MB; a few specialized models held up to 2.88 MB. This was enough for the simple text files of the time, but today, it’s barely enough for one or two photo attachments.
Gramophone
Before the invention of the gramophone, Edison’s phonograph (1877), with its tinfoil cylinders, was widely used. A decade later, Berliner’s gramophone (using flat discs) replaced it, becoming the forerunner of the record player.
VHS
Once we acquired the ability to record video, the Video Home System (VHS) became an invaluable part of every household’s living room. VHS could record up to six hours and users could fast-forward and rewind – both unheard of features until then. Sony’s early VTRs appeared in 1965, but the VHS format itself wasn’t introduced until 1976.
Typewriter
What is known as the first practical typewriter was invented in the second half of the 19th century. The writing speed using a typewriter was much faster than using a pen. The first typewriters for mass sale were put on the market in 1874.
Nowadays, people just type on their computers or dictate text into their phones. In a few decades, the need for typing in general may disappear as voice-to-text becomes even more widespread.
Tape Drive
Believe it or not, there was a time when you had to wait all night to back up whatever information you had on your computer. The tape drive was a data storage device that stores data on a magnetic tape, and the operation took what today’s generation would consider forever. You had to always start from the beginning and roll down until you’d find the file you wanted. Though considered “legacy,” tape drives are still used in enterprise environments for secure long-term data storage.
IBM Simon
The Simon was the first smartphone, invented in 1992, long before anyone used the term “smartphone.” It was the world’s first touchscreen phone, though it was not touchscreen in the modern sense; it used a resistive touch panel with stylus input. Simon became available for sale in 1994. It could even send emails. It was the beginning of modern-day super smart gadgets.
Boombox
Even though it was big, heavy, and required frequent replacement of batteries, the boombox was a popular all-in-one music device. If you have seen music videos from the 1980s, you’ve probably seen people walking around with a boombox listening to music. You can still buy this kind of music player, but today they are much smaller and cheaper.
DVD
DVDs were developed in 1995 (jointly by Sony, Philips, Toshiba, and Panasonic) and hit the market in 1996, overtaking VHS by the early 2000s. DVD players actually outsold video recorders for the first time in 2002. Though DVD and Blu-ray players are still available in stores, the technology mostly became obsolete when online streaming took over, especially as millennials and Gen Zs are becoming the main consumer market.
Cassette tape
The first audio cassette, most commonly known as the tape, came out in 1963 – and for the first time anyone, not just sound engineers, could make recordings. Cassette tapes, though certainly not as popular as during their heyday in the last century, are not dead. For nostalgic or artistic reasons, some people prefer them over downloads.
PDAs
Before there were apps to remind us of tasks and help manage our days, there were personal digital assistants (PDAs). Early PDAs lacked WiFi or voice recognition, but later models added those as wireless technology improved. They could even send a fax.
In the 2010s, as smartphones became more powerful due to their smaller and lighter size, PDAs became obsolete.
CRT TV
In the age of flat-screen TVs that seem to be getting thinner, wider, and smarter with every update, it’s hard to imagine that once televisions were just CRT (Cathode Ray Tubes) monitors. In the 1960s, almost every American household had a CRT TV.
Sony stopped making them in Japan in 2004 and everywhere else by 2008. Today, the best place to see a CRT TV is in a museum or video game tournament.
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, invented in 1969, was an experimental computer network with a cost of $25 million. Some people would call it the very beginning of the internet. Funded by the Department of Defense, it was intended to connect computers at research facilities funded by the Pentagon. ARPANET officially transitioned to the modern internet protocol (TCP/IP) on January 1, 1983, marking the birth of the modern internet.
Betamax
Invented by Sony in 1975, Betamax was a heavy analog machine that could record video and audio for up to an hour, later extended to five hours. Betamax and VHS competed for a share of the recording market in the 1980s. Sony announced it would stop producing Betamax tapes relatively recently, in 2016, even though the format has not been popular since the VHS format was invented and took over the market.
Calculator Watch
Timepieces have been around quite a long time but for the past few decades, people have been trying to make the watch more than just a watch. Before it was a phone, it was a calculator in the 1980s. It was a very popular device among the tech-savvy. Even Marty McFly from “Back to the Future” wore one.
LaserDisc Player
LaserDisc offered higher-quality video and sound than VHS but was expensive, limiting its popularity. LaserDisc Players, or DiscoVision (as it was named in 1978), was an optical disc with a 12” diameter that contained analog audio and video.
Reel-to-Reel Tape
Until the digital recording format came along, sound professionals used reel-to-reel tapes. Audio was recorded on a magnetic tape held on a reel. There may be a revival in the works for both quality and nostalgic reasons. A German company introduced a new reel-to-reel tape machine, but it costs about $12,000.
Transistor Radio
People used transistor radios to listen to music and the radio on the go and you could see them everywhere in the 1970s. As Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, had once said: “My first transistor radio… I loved what it could do, it brought me music, it opened my world up.”
Telegraph
The forerunner to fax machines, the telegraph was the first device of its kind that made long-distance communication possible. It worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire stretched between stations. The telegraph was the foundation of later communication inventions such as the telephone and even the internet.
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