10 Revolutionary Tech Inventions That Are Obsolete In 2023

If there is one certainty in the world, technology never stands still. No matter how important a new device or advancement is, it will always be usurped by a successor in the future. That's just how technology works and it means that what was once the latest top-of-the-line tech can quickly become completely obsolete, replaced by something faster, smaller, and more efficient than people had previously thought possible.

In many cases, these now outdated and antiquated pieces of technology were revolutionary inventions that even the greatest minds of the time probably assumed would be relevant for much longer than they actually were. They helped to change the world and proved influential in human history but they are now little more than memories in the drawer.

These revolutionary inventions were hugely important in their heyday, but have since fallen out of use as new tech took over our lives and rendered predecessors obsolete.

Photography is something that many people take for granted nowadays. With every smartphone coming equipped with impressive in-built cameras capable of taking great pictures, people are taking more photographs than ever before. In fact, millions of photos are uploaded to social media sites like Instagram every single day, proving how integral the act has become as part of our daily lives. Yet, being able to snap images of the world around us was not always quite as simple, especially for those who didn't have access to expensive camera equipment.

That's where disposable cameras were so useful, as they allowed people to capture photographs without the need for training or expensive cameras. For a small price, these pre-loaded devices could take a set number of photographs before being taken to a processing lab where the photographs could be printed out from the film inside. Lightweight, affordable, and easy-to-use, disposable cameras were ideal for those traveling or at events such as weddings.

The first disposable cameras were introduced in the late 1940s but they didn't truly reach their peak until the 1990s, with the likes of Kodak and Fuji dominating the market while bringing photography to more mainstream audiences. However, the rise in digital cameras, especially in smartphones, meant that disposable cameras were no longer necessary as most people had access to higher quality and more instant forms of photography.

The origin of the typewriter can be traced back to inventors producing working typing machines in the 19th Century. From there, typewriters evolved several times, incorporating new ideas to make them faster and more accurate than ever before. Electric typewriters and the IBM Selectric typewriter were major advancements, although the technology didn't radically change throughout much of its history.

Typewriters were undoubtedly revolutionary when they entered the mainstream. Compared to standard handwritten documents, typewriters can produce work in a shorter amount of time and in a standardized format that is far easier to read. This created far more efficient workspaces and dramatically improved other industries, such as journalism and publishing by giving writers the opportunity to get news or stories out in a more timely fashion. They were also a major factor in helping women find paid work in clerical roles and played a major role in the industrial revolution.

The late 20th Century saw a gradual move from typewriters to word processors on computers. These programs allow users to quickly fix mistakes, are less prone to errors and malfunctions, and can save work digitally so it can easily be reproduced countless times. As the use of personal computers, printers, and smartphones has increased, the need for typewriters has diminished.

Before home media, people were limited when it came to watching movies and television series. Unless a film was in the cinema or being shown on television, there was no way to watch it. That was also the case for shows as well as people were restricted to whatever the television schedule was. That changed in the 1970s with the release of VHS tapes and, following a fierce war with Betamax, the format established itself as the only real option when it came to home media.

VHS was revolutionary in the way it allowed people to consume video content. For the first time, everyday people could buy and own copies of movies or shows and could watch them whenever they wanted. VCRs even made it possible to record content directly from televisions. This made entertainment far more accessible than ever before while also giving customers more freedom to choose exactly what they wanted to watch.

The end of VHS as a medium, and consequently VCRs and VHS players, came about as a direct result of the release of DVDs. This new disc-based solution had many advantages, ranging from its higher video quality to the smaller size compared to tapes. DVDs also offered more interactivity, giving users more choices when it came to watching their favorite movies and TV shows. Of course, the advent of digital media and streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ in more recent years has led to a rapid decline of home media in general.

The invention of the telephone in the late 19th Century changed communication forever. Prior to landline telephones, people were only able to talk to each other over distances by the use of letters and then telegraphs. However, landline telephones gave people the ability to talk to each other in real time, communicating in a way was not possible throughout most of human history.

From Alexander Graham Bell's patent in 1876, the telephone evolved with telecommunications companies and governments installing vast amounts of telephone lines across entire countries. The landline telephone advanced from old-fashioned rotary phones to cordless models that didn't have to be directly plugged into the phone line. Throughout the 20th Century, it became rarer to find a home in countries such as the United States that did not have a landline phone, connecting hundreds of millions of people and businesses.

Unlike many other technologies here, landline telephones have not yet completely disappeared and can still be found in many homes. But they are not widely used and have largely been overtaken by mobile phones and internet communication services such as VoIP apps. It is likely that landline phones will continue to be phased out, slowly replaced by the billions of smartphones currently in use.

Although the iPod was far from the first portable MP3, the Apple product certainly popularized this type of device and made playing music on the go more popular than ever before. First introduced to the world in 2001, the original iPod Classic brought a sleek design and friendly user interface that made listening to music easier. With the ability to store thousands of songs and sort music into playlists, these devices heralded the age of digital downloads where stores such as iTunes became more influential than record stores.

Apple quickly expanded its iPod offerings, with releases ranging from the iPod Mini, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Nano all the way to the iPod Touch in 2007. These ranged in size and shape but all were successful and proved to be hits with music lovers across the world. By the time the iPod Touch came out, the device had evolved from a dedicated music player to a multimedia device capable of playing games, running apps, and displaying videos.

Despite the huge success of the iPod, with the devices going on to sell an estimated 450 million units, demand dropped in the second half of the 2010s. As more people invested in smartphones that could carry out all of the functions of an iPod in addition to many other features, the music players were no longer needed. That hasn't stopped some people from wishing Apple had not discontinued the iPod in 2022.