Top Ten Current Technologies that Might Disappear Soon
Technology is ever-evolving, which means that any and every gadget on the market today will, undoubtedly, become obsolete somewhere in the future. This list compiles the technological devices and tools that are most likely to bite the theoretical dust sooner than later.
The landline phone's days are numbered, without a doubt. More and more people are removing home phones from their service plans and using their cell phones as their primary means of communication. It will be interesting to see how this trend will affect businesses, don't you think?
Can you imagine a 50-story office building without a single landline phone? The day will come, I'm sure, but it's hard to believe.
I don't have a landline phone in my house. I only use my cell phone to make calls.
With online streaming quickly becoming the most popular way to watch TV shows and movies, and with the digital world already dominating music, optical discs like CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays are almost obsolete. I'm an avid movie lover (shocking, I know), and I still prefer owning Blu-ray discs over relying entirely on my Netflix account.
Go ahead and call me a caveman, but I will never stop watching movies on DVDs. I absolutely refuse to get rid of them, and I refuse to stream movies.
Also, DVDs that you own can't be randomly censored like what happened to the episode Mid-Life Crustacean from SpongeBob SquarePants on Paramount+. The only way you can watch that episode now is to either find it on YouTube or buy an old Season 3 DVD.
Much like how optical discs are on their way out, cable TV is looking a lot like it's ready for the boneyard. What can I say? Digital media is interactive, more user-friendly, and allows you to watch what you want when you want it. There's nothing else to say.
No, please, I hope USB flash drives don't go obsolete because of the disappointing change Apple made to their laptops a few years ago. I have four USBs (one 128GB and three 8GB), which I keep in a safe. They are my backup in case I need to transfer files to a new computer if my old one breaks. However, I will probably need to move the files to a new flash drive in 5-10 years because the original may stop working.
Sorry, but I have a weird fascination with USBs. You can use them on computers, TVs, video game consoles, and many other electronics.
My GPS device is a few years old, but it's definitely inferior to the Google Maps app on my phone. It's slower, bulkier, not as user-friendly, and needs to be plugged into the cigarette lighter (I don't really know if that port has an official name) in my car to work. I don't know if newer models have made any major improvements, but I can't see anything other than smartphone GPS apps being used in the near future.
GPS isn't going away unless the internet completely shuts down and we all have to go back to the days of using maps.
Who uses actual digital cameras anymore? I'm not counting professional photographers' cameras that are 50 lbs and covered in buttons (because those will probably stick around). I'm talking about the cameras most people owned before smartphone cameras became as popular as they are today. My first cell phone didn't even have a camera.
Unless camera companies wake up and start making smartphones, they're going to be out of the game very soon.
Credit and debit cards are the most popular method of payment these days, but mobile devices that instantly transfer funds wirelessly are growing in popularity. I'm Canadian, so I think this new technology will gain a foothold here before it does in the U.S. (we've been ahead of our southern neighbors for years in money-related tech). But it will spread globally soon enough.
With backup cameras, blind spot monitors, intelligent parking assist systems, collision avoidance systems, and lane departure warning systems, rearview and side-view mirrors seem like they're on their way out. However, nobody should trust a computer system over their own brain, so maybe mirrors will stay - just with a smaller role in the future.
Another device that will see its death at the hands of cell phones (or any related mobile device). Since there are plenty of "apps for that," just about any mobile device can have remote controls (for televisions, stereos, and household appliances) effortlessly integrated into its software.
Yes, money as we know it is probably going to become obsolete soon. How many people do you actually know that use cash as their primary method of payment? I do, but I'm the only one when I'm out with friends at a restaurant or elsewhere. It's just not as convenient as using a wireless device to store and transfer money instantly and effortlessly.
Who knows? Maybe even wallets will become a thing of the past. Credit and debit cards will likely outlive the dollar bill, but for how long?
The Newcomers
More and more devices are becoming wireless every year. Expect wireless televisions, lighting fixtures, and kitchen appliances to start appearing soon, because it's probably going to happen. I'm no expert on technology or anything, but I don't have a hard time believing this almost-inevitable future will become reality.
Yes, because they're bad for the environment and are being replaced by electric vehicles, which are much better for the environment (as long as they're charged by electric stations run by solar energy).
Electric vehicles are a lot better.
3G internet is sadly going away this year, which means that many older cellphones (including the Motorola Razr V3, which was released in 2004) and many other devices that rely on 3G won't work at all very soon, if they haven't stopped working already.
R.I.P. 3G internet (2001 - 2022).
