‘What’s a piece of outdated tech you secretly miss?’ – 17 retro gizmos that need to make a comeback

Readers of a certain age will remember that the world wasn’t always built around apps and touch screens. Cast your mind back a whopping 15 odd years, and tech was more tactile.

Has society lost something in the process? Do you yearn for certain gadgets to return? That’s what AffectionateLocal693wanted to know as they threw out this question to the good people over as r/AskReddit:

‘What is a piece of outdated tech you secretly miss?’

These were the top answers that will have you pining for a more analogue age…

1.
‘I miss when google gave you the best answer, not the most-sponsored one.’
-Zestyclose-Cap1829

2.
‘Buying software without all the subscription crap’
-f50c13t1

3.
‘Videogame consoles that immediately display a game when you turn them on and don’t require a login, software update and ad splash screen.’
-CloneEngineer

4.
‘I’m a teacher. I really miss a tech-free classroom. I miss books and paper. I miss not having to scrutinize every single assignment for cheating/AI. Kids will literally use AI to answer comprehension questions, the lowest of the low-hanging-fruit assignments.’
-vocabulazy

5.
‘Knobs and buttons on car interiors.’
-AnxietyChronicles

6.
‘I miss actual keyboards on phones.

I miss AOL instant messenger and the innocence of the early internet.’
-AdorkableUtahn

7.
‘Not secret but I miss the average new laptop having a disc drive (I regularly buy and use CDs and DVDs)’
-52mschr

8.
‘The iPod.

‘It’s such an amazing device. No games or social media, no distractions, just music. I secretly miss how we used those.’
-Interesting-Carry831

9.
‘Honestly, landlines. It was nice when people did not know where you were you could not be contacted. I was in the military and the thing I hated most was my commands ability to contact me 24/7 365 days a week.’
-patheticyeti