5 ’80s Devices We Want Would Make A Comeback

1980 heralded a decade of distinctive style selections, implausible films, music, and TV reveals (together with those who maybe have not aged practically so nicely). Many who do not forget that unstoppable period will miss the influential know-how of the ’80s. Now, with on a regular basis that has handed, some know-how that appeared so superior is all however laughable now. Smartphones, as an illustration, have been troublesome to think about for the typical individual when you think about the Motorola Dynatac 8000X, the primary cellphone to hit cabinets.

At a hefty 1.7 kilos and with a good heftier price ticket of $3,995 (the equal of round $11,700 now), it has a important place within the historical past of phone tech, however completely no place in your pockets in 2025. Sometimes, although, simply generally, nostalgia and practicality collide. There are a number of creations from the ’80s that folks would like to see make a comeback right now, modernized in various levels. Not just because they’re remembered so fondly, however as a result of it could really serve a necessity and be a smart thought to take action. Modern know-how has reworked society in so some ways, and there is actually no comparability between the 2 eras.

Nonetheless, there are specific niches that it would not fill in addition to some know-how from the previous. Crucially, too, the widespread use of streaming providers and downloads has resulted in a decline within the availability of bodily media. Each of those gadgets continues for use right now in some capability, via re-releases and fans, however has maybe not fairly achieved the extent of mainstream comeback they deserve.

Read extra: 7 Handy Ways To Use A Multimeter Around The Home And Garage

Walkman

The rise of MP3 gamers was an interesting motion to behold. You may personal 1000’s of songs and a whole bunch of albums with out bodily proudly owning any of them in any respect. There’s all the time one thing to be mentioned for bodily media, although, from DVDs to CDs and, earlier than both, the cassette tape. This format’s greatest good friend was Sony’s Walkman, a conveyable music participant that, to many right now, absolutely seems huge and impractical. So, too, would possibly cassette tapes themselves. Collectors, nevertheless, can not seem to get sufficient of cassettes.

Northeastern University affiliate music professor Andrew Mall defined to the Northeastern Global News, “The sales are still minuscule, but what’s been bringing it back is the interest in the cassette as an aesthetic object.” Vinyl boasts wonderful album artwork that you may show on the wall and a extra resilient physique that retains audio high quality for longer, however you actually could not play one on a conveyable gadget. Cassettes are additionally cheaper and simpler to provide.

Both, in fact, have that very same attraction of really proudly owning one thing and increase a set. In August 2025, Taylor Swift opened up preorders for her upcoming album “The Life Of A Showgirl,” with cassette being one of many codecs accessible as a result of, as Mall mentioned, “The cassette didn’t ever really die.” Neither did the cassette participant. A brand-new Walkman mannequin with cassette-playing performance could be simply as area of interest however would have very actual attraction. The Walkman has a fascinating history, and its story is not over but.

VHS gamers

VHS tapes are in an analogous state of affairs to cassette tapes in some ways. It’s one other know-how that by no means disappeared fully, however it has grow to be more and more unpopular. Often, although, those that have VHS gamers are ardent supporters of the format. One YouTube channel showcases the best of the footage it’s gathered from old VHS tapes, and communities develop round those that nonetheless share the glory of the VCR. The video-loving neighborhood has grown considerably, however this additionally presents an issue. VCRs are now not manufactured anyplace in any respect.

Japan’s Funai Electric stopped manufacturing VCRs in 2016, as a consequence of declining gross sales and problem securing components for the format. The firm was believed to be the final bastion of cassette participant manufacture on the planet. This naturally implies that new fashions are extremely scarce, and with fans trying to snatch them up, costs could be unpredictable. Unfortunately, so can the situation of the machine itself.

You by no means fairly know the way a system will perform while you purchase a used one from a retailer or storage sale, and as Funai Electric found, new components for broken or worn machines are considerably troublesome to return by. That leaves worldwide communities of VHS fans with rising collections and a troublesome time discovering dependable gamers via which to utilize them. There is software program that may switch the content material on a VHS tape into digital, however to take action is to disclaim the physicality of the expertise, which is so essential to the format’s attraction for therefore many within the first place.

Polaroid cameras

Modern smartphones have giant storage capacities that always result in a bent to be fairly snap-happy. What’s wanted, generally, is a distinct technique of pictures. One that’s bodily and ensures that each picture counts. At the identical time, it needn’t be costly professional-level tools. In this enviornment, one of many defining applied sciences of the Eighties was the Polaroid digital camera. The fast capacity to have one thing to show on a wall or elsewhere was a part of the attraction. The digital camera high quality that so many have at their fingertips right now means prompt cameras have their downsides. After all, if any person is blurry in a digital shot, you’ll be able to merely delete it and check out once more.

If you could have the identical subject with a bodily shot, you’ve got misplaced one of many beneficial pictures in your roll of movie, and they are often distinctly dear. The excellent news for nostalgic prompt digital camera followers is that the know-how hasn’t essentially disappeared, and followers have stored it greater than afloat. In truth, Digital Camera World journal famous in December 2025 that Fujifilm’s Instax movie was proving too in style and manufacturing was in want of a lift.

Capacity was boosted via a money injection of round ¥5 billion (the equal of about $32 million) that enabled the nation to extend the manufacturing of the dear materials by about 10%. Instant cameras are nonetheless in appreciable demand, then. Fujifilm’s Instax digital camera has basically claimed the crown from Polaroid. Though the latter initially stopped producing prompt cameras in 2007 and manufacturing its movie in 2008, it has since returned to the market with a recent Polaroid vary. It could be splendidly nostalgic to see it as an prompt digital camera powerhouse once more.

Slide projectors

In the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties, folks did not but have the enjoyment of sharing trip pictures to social media and household group chats as quickly as they have been taken, however they may stay up for an evening of sharing all these slides with household and associates on their return. So many had members of the family who had retained a treasure trove of previous photographs from birthday events, weddings, holidays, and different vital events, and in some circumstances, they’re all that is left of lots of the folks depicted in them. It’s true, in fact, that providers permit for some such content material to be transferred to digital, however this is determined by the experience accessible, doubtlessly risking shedding the unique.

Those who want to make use of the unique know-how on the codecs they bear in mind can hope that they’ll all the time have allies who can restore, service, and supply the machines they require to take action. In 2024, SilvergrainClassics journal interviewed two such folks: Manfred Schmidt and Thomas Fassung, the managing administrators of heidi-foto. This retailer in Munich, Germany, has specialised in analog pictures and slide projectors for many years.

Both acknowledge that the format is area of interest and has grow to be more and more difficult, with Fassung telling the outlet, “Nevertheless, the procurement of film has become difficult … prices have risen enormously.” Nonetheless, the crew boasts the knowledgeable data that anyone nonetheless trying to make use of such a machine may wish. “If someone only wants to look at a few old slides occasionally, they are ideally equipped with a single-image projector from Leica, for example,” Schmidt notes. “The devices are robust and easy to use. If someone frequently looks at slides because projection is an integral part of their presentation style, there is no getting round a Rollei MSC twin.”

The Filofax

The pager, actually, is the epitome of a tool that has one job and performs it with aplomb. Mobile telephones additionally turned in style across the identical period, however ended up doing completely the whole lot else along with their unique goal: communication. Another piece of kit that many a busy Eighties skilled would all the time have had readily available is the Filofax, a big and different private organizer for storing names, addresses, paperwork, different contact particulars, and work necessities collectively in a single place.

This, too, is commonly merely seen as a job for a smartphone or different digital software program right now, however there is not any doubt that there is nonetheless a bonus to preserving all of this info collated and stored collectively bodily. For these discovering their display time notching up ever increased, it may be an infinite breath of recent air to spend a bit of time with a pen and paper, and evidently Filofax itself acknowledges this. FLB Group managing director Susan Graham advised The Drum in August 2024, “We aren’t trying to convert people who use digital back into paper, but we are enhancing the paper experience.”

Through further options resembling wellness and health info to finish, and app performance that permits the digital and paper realms to be stored synced, the Filofax has remained related in its area of interest, and its attraction may proceed to unfold. With QR code/app compatibility, and perhaps a return to performance just like the Anoto text-scanning pen the gadgets used again on the flip of the Millennium, maybe it may grow to be a fully-fledged workplace titan as soon as extra.

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