10 Devices Your Smartphone Has Rendered Obsolete

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 10 Jul 2017

With technology constantly evolving, many devices become obsolete and get replaced with something that's better, smaller, and probably a lot shinier. Remember the landlines phones of old? Well, they’ve been replaced by mobile phones, which in turn were replaced by smartphones.

And that’s not all that that smartphones have replaced. These devices are packed full of features that render a long list of things obsolete and useless. Like the ones listed below.

1. Cameras



How did people in the past manage to survive without taking a selfie every 5 minutes? And did they really have to wait until the film was processed to see how the pic turned out? Oh, the horror!


2. MP3 Players



There is a reason why you don’t see that many MP3 players nowadays. It’s because everyone has a smartphone and because every smartphone is capable of storing an insane amount of music. And if you don’t want to store music on your smartphone, you can always stream it.


3. Alarm clocks



Your smartphone can use your favorite song as an alarm so that you will slowly grow to hate it. If you frequently snooze the alarm and go back to sleep, your phone can force you to play silly games so that you stay awake. And if you ever feel the need to smash the alarm clock, you’ll probably stop when you realize that a brand new smartphone will cost you a very pretty penny.


4. Books



I for one do most of my reading on my smartphone. I’m not going to take a book with me everywhere I go, but I am going to take my smartphone. So whenever I have some time to kill, or whenever I’m forced to wait on someone, I can open an ebook and do some reading on my smartphone.


5. Remotes



The TV is on, the volume is too loud, and I’m trying to sleep. I could turn it down, but the missus put the remote far out of reach. No problem, the remote app on my smartphone will get the job done just as easily.


6. Watches



As a fashion accessory, your smartphone will never replace your watch. But as a means of telling the time, chances are that you use your phone to see what time it is because your left your watch at home.


7. Calculators



"Why is everybody on their calculator?" says Russell Peters in Ripped, a comedy about a couple of stoners who sleep for 30 years and find themselves catapulted into 2016.


8. Flashlights



Just because you never know when you’re going to need a flashlight doesn’t mean that you should lug one around with you. The LED flash on your smartphone can easily double as a flashlight.


9. GPS devices



Can’t find your bearings? Don’t know which way to go to find a restaurant or an ATM? Your smartphone has a built-in GPS and by using Google Maps you can easily find your way.


10. In-person communication



Okay, this entry isn’t a device. But the simple fact of the matter is that we pay more attention to our smartphones than we do to other people. Tell me if this sounds familiar: a few friends are sitting around the table, but not one is talking because everyone is on Facebook.



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