The iPhone X, released in November 2017, has been officially marked as “vintage” by Apple, and this comes as a surprise to many who remember its launch as if it were yesterday. Together with the first gen AirPods, these products go down as the the originators of the following models. iPhone X was the first model to bring Face ID, with the removal of the home button.
Apple has a page dedicated to informing users on how to service its products that have an expired warranty, and along with other older models, the iPhone X has now joined the list. “Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago,” explains Apple.
Liam Howley, Chief Marketing Officer at musicMagpie commented, “Hearing that the iPhone X is officially a vintage Apple product has certainly made me feel nostalgic. The fact that such a groundbreaking device can achieve vintage status within a mere seven-year span serves as a reminder of how quickly technology evolves. What feels contemporary today can quickly become a thing of the past.”
Classic Gadgets Becoming Popular
For a long time, many appreciate the sentiments and nostalgia behind collecting classic items. Before the tech era, there were antique stores, and now, tech enthusiasts collect gadgets.
A report from musicMagpie shows that there is a rise in popularity of vintage tech gadgets, and the Nikon Coolpix digital camera is the most popular. Searches for this 19 year old device went up by a massive 8507% over the last 12 months alone. The surge can also be seen with #nikoncoolpix having 47 million views on TikTok, indicating that the interest lies with Gen Z and millenials.
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With ‘dumb’ phones coming back into use, flip phones like the Motorola Razr and a Samsung model are experiencing renewed interest. Platforms like TikTok and eBay see spikes in searches for these devices. On TikTok, the Razr went up by 180%, and the Samsung by 57%.
Even though smartphones offer millions of games and apps, there is also a growing trend with the Nintendo DS again. The portable console was a hit in its time, and in the past year, searches for the device have gone up. On Tiktok, searches went up by 33%, 19% on eBay and 2% on Google.
What Influenced These Trends?
On social media, people enjoy posting about their lives, often reflecting on times before the current era. The nostalgia effect is what brought back the Y2K trend, for example, which is influenced by the tech, trends, and fashion from the late 90s and early to mid 2000s.
Younger generations have a fascination with the style and technology of these eras. The gadgets, including MP3 players like the iPod and Walkmans, are becoming popular again for this reason.
Another reason why people are moving to classic gadgets, is that younger generations who grew up with tech now crave simpler technology, especially with the countless scandals on privacy being compromised with new tech. Flip phones offer a break from the constant connectivity of smartphones, which is in line with the growing need for the digital detox.
