5 Old-School USB Gadgets That We'd Be Surprised To Ever See Make A Comeback

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The early 2000s USB boom brought us several bizarre devices that quickly disappeared when better technology came and replaced them. But despite the constant digital innovations, certain pieces of tech nostalgia have had their comeback moments. Vinyl records, for instance, sold about 44 million units and generated $1.4 billion in revenue last year. That's the most popular it's been since 1984. Cassette tapes also show 440% sales growth over the past decade, while wired headphones are reappearing in everyone's ears, from college students to household celebrities. So, tech comebacks are possible. 

But not every device deserves a resurrection. Some gadgets die down because they are so fundamentally flawed that a return would raise more eyebrows than it would be celebrated. Even then, there are still some weird USB gadgets you'll probably want to own, but the others seem destined to live out their days in the digital graveyard. Old-school USB accessories fit squarely into this port. Consider gadgets like USB MP3 players and TV tuner sticks that became obsolete once smartphones and modern computers arrived. They still exist, only they are not as popular or as aesthetic as before. With that in mind, five old-school USB gadgets that we'd be surprised to ever see make a comeback. 

USB flash drive MP3 players will hold a lot of nostalgic weight for millennials. They look exactly like USB flash drives but have a headphone jack for you to listen to music directly from them. These thumb-sized players typically offered between 512MB and 2GB of storage, enough for a few hundred songs, depending on the quality. All you'd have to do is plug one end into your computer to load songs, then plug headphones into the other end to listen. 

At the time, these portable and convenient players seemed like a simple way to have music on the go. But all that was before the smartphone era made carrying them around unnecessary. Smartphones are gadgets that changed the course of history, obliterating USB flash drive MP3 players thanks to larger displays, cloud storage that can hold thousands of songs, and internet connectivity that provides access to streaming services. 

Gone are the days of manually loading files via USB, as even dedicated music players like iPod touches offer screens, apps, and proper user interfaces. Still, you can satisfy whatever nostalgic appeal they hold by picking up products like the AGPTEK U3 USB Stick MP3 Player, which now has up to 40GB of storage. 

There were many novelty USB hubs in the early and mid-2000s disguised as objects that had nothing to do with computing or storage. Everything from transformer cubes to flexy rainbow toys and potted tulips passed as a USB hub. The fun shapes were exciting but often meant poorly positioned ports, as some made it impossible to plug in two, let alone three USBs at the same time. It seemed like the whimsical gimmicks made you forget that USB hubs were supposed to be functional devices in the first place. 

USB hubs require external power for multiple devices, so having one means more cable clutter, unlike the various wireless connectivity options we now have. Today's computers make dedicated USB hubs both impractical and pointless, since laptops have limited ports that force users to purchase more sophisticated multiport adapters to maximize functionality in minimal space. 

The Anker USB-C Hub, for instance, offers power delivery, multiple USB-A ports, HDMI output, SD card readers, and Ethernet, all in an aluminum rectangle that is much smaller than some of those novelty hubs ever were. Despite these advances in tech, modern external USB hubs remain one of the great ways you can add more USB ports to your PC. But as more laptops abandon the USB-A port altogether, a hub full of them is becoming obsolete with every passing day.

One USB gadget you likely won't see make a comeback is the beverage warmer and cooler people usually carried about as a desktop accessory. You know those ones you'd plug into your laptop to keep your coffee hot or your soda cold while you worked. These warmers usually have a small heated coaster-like plate for your mugs and use thermoelectric technology to heat or chill the beverages inside them. 

They worked, but not so well. The standout problem was that the standard power supplied by USB ports is modest at best. That means when you use one, the effectiveness usually depends on how thick or insulated the mug or container is. In fact, the problem was so significant that certain manufacturers now provide the disclaimer that their USB mug warmer would take a long time to heat up cold drinks. 

Today, we have high-quality insulated mugs like the YETI Rambler or Hydro Flask that keep beverages at your preferred temperatures for hours without requiring any power whatsoever. You can still find USB warmers and coolers on Amazon, but their return to popularity seems about as likely as floppy disks making a comeback. Also, there are several other USB gadgets that come in handy in the summer and help keep you warm in the winter. 

Speaking of discs, USB optical disc drives became popular when laptop manufacturers decided they wanted to make thinner and lighter devices by casting out built-in CD and DVD drives. They did this in order to reduce manufacturing costs and enhance durability since there would be fewer moving parts. Their success gave rise to an era of thin and sleek laptops for ultimate portability, but people still wanted to play DVDs on their laptops. This was the problem USB optical drives were created to solve. 

USB optical disc drives were essential at first, especially if you needed physical media for software installation, music ripping, or data storage. But as time went by, and technology changed, they were replaced by streaming services and downloads. Nowadays, software distribution has moved entirely to downloads and cloud-based access. Programs like Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite are now available exclusively through subscription services or direct downloads. 

It means that optical media itself is dying and taking USB optical drives down with it. There is no longer a need for physical multimedia except for the occasional and rare need to read an old photo CD or install some sort of legacy software. But those don't justify keeping it around permanently, and for us to see it make a comeback would require a complete overhaul of decades of digital transformation.

Another victim of the digital shift to streaming services is USB TV Tuner sticks or tuner cards. Back then, if you wanted to watch live TV on your computer, you needed a USB TV tuner stick. TV tuners are small dongles that allow you to plug one end into your laptop USB port and a coaxial cable input into the other for connecting to your cable box or antenna. The small antenna or receiver is typically included in the package that also has media software you can use to manage TV tuning, channel scanning, and recording. All these together allow you to stream, broadcast, and record live TV directly onto your PC.

USB TV tuner sticks or cards are still a viable option for some people. But in a world where streaming, smart TVs, and built-in tuners have become standard, USB TV tuners find themselves less prominent and revolutionary. Platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube TV offer on-demand and live television through any internet-connected device. It's way more convenient and provides a much better image quality. Yet, products like the Mygica A681B USB 2.0 TV Tuner Card on Amazon show that, though these old-school gadgets are out of style, they are still very much in stock.