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  "description": "The need for fun, purpose-made gadgets died out with the smartphone revolution, but they're slowly clawing their way back to relevance. As a gadget nerd, that's great news.",
  "path": "/nerds-are-fighting-to-bring-back-gadgets-even-as-iphone-wants-them-dead/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-18T19:40:27.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.hilli.tech",
  "tags": [
    "digital audio player",
    "pocketable eReader",
    "Analogue Pocket",
    "Cortex notepads",
    "We Are Rewind"
  ],
  "textContent": "Two stories that I read from _Aftermath_ this week made me want to discuss a love of gadgets and our need to bring them back. One was from Gita Jackson about a digital audio player, and another was from Chris Person about a pocketable eReader.\n\nI grew up in the 90s, so I have an inherent love of gadgets. Whether it was Data in _The Goonies_ , the dad in _Honey, I Shrunk the Kids_ , or the titular character in _Harriet the Spy_ – having gadgets and gizmos was cool.\n\nIf you caught me at any point from eight years old to eighteen, you might find that I had some hoard of stuff somewhere in my room. It started as notebooks, pens, and disposable cameras, then evolved into MP3 players, handheld gaming consoles, knives, wallets, and other similar objects.\n\nThere was something for everything, and it all served a purpose. Yes, I was that kid with cargo pants and wired headphones running up my hoodie.\n\nThen, all of a sudden, the smartphone revolution began, and iPhone led the charge. \"There's an app for that.\" It was an ad campaign suggesting your stuff was old and boring, and apps were new, cool, and digital.\n\nFast forward to today, and my iPhone is my wallet, Game Boy, radio, tape recorder, flashlight, calculator, notepad, phonebook, ledger, grocery list, house key, and many other things. Every year, it seems that that list is getting longer, and the need for other objects is decreasing.\n\nOn the one hand, that's exciting. I love that my entire life can be contained in one little rectangle that fits in my pocket. It's revolutionary and convenient.\n\nOn the other hand, it is dreadful. I miss my little gadgets and objects, and it seems Apple is hell-bent on making sure they're all rendered useless.\n\n## It doesn't have to be this way\n\nEven as I embraced this concept of a singularity taking over every form of gadget and technology, others pushed back. It was outside of my view, but there were people clinging desperately to their love of beautiful and useful objects.\n\nA little more than a decade after the smartphone revolution, something began to break loose. I noticed a shift towards objects that had been supplanted by technology. I initially dismissed it as nostalgia, but then something caught my eye.\n\nI wish I had this much clarity on my classic Game Boy as a kid\n\nThe Analogue Pocket is a very cute little device that lets you natively play Game Boy and Game Boy Advanced cartridges at 10x resolution with a backlight. They were impossible to get at first, so I had to ignore them for the most part.\n\nThen, one day, my email inbox showed me an opportunity to order a new transparent version of the little handheld. I jumped on it and snagged one before they sold out.\n\nThis little device renewed my interest in collecting old games. I found a Nintendo 64 as well and started finding old games I enjoyed for it too. Later, as it turns out, Analogue made a piece of hardware for playing N64 games, and it has been amazing with my collection of games.\n\nAnyway, since getting that futuristic Game Boy, I've wondered where else I can fit little gadgets in my life. I've purchased some Cortex notepads to help keep track of work projects at my desk, and I've been reviewing more products like iPhone camera accessories or 3D printers.\n\nApple has actually helped in this space a bit, even though the iPhone still aims to replace everything it can. The Apple Watch is the perfect example of a gadget augmenting your life.\n\nAirTag opened up the floodgates for all kinds of new little devices. I've purchased wallets, keychains, and even a lighter that can house an AirTag.\n\nMagSafe had a similar effect. It was as if Apple suddenly realized people like owning things that aren't an iPhone.\n\nI'd love to see this trend continue. Gaming has seen quite the explosion of purpose-built little guys in recent years. My wallet won't allow it, but I've certainly pined after the many modern versions of PS Vita, Nintendo DS, and other handhelds that have flooded the market recently.\n\nReliving old games with new technology\n\nThen there are these two stories from _Aftermath_. The music player and the eReader.\n\nAs an Apple Music user, I would find it difficult to use it any other way than natively on an Apple product. That said, it is possible to buy a music player that runs Android, has a built-in DAC, and download Apple Music and Lossless audio for listening over wired headphones. It's something I'd like to explore when my budget allows.\n\nIf anything though, it makes me wish Apple would bring back the iPod. I've also briefly considered We Are Rewind, which sells a gorgeous cassette player and modern boombox.\n\nAt least using alternative devices with Apple Music is an option. Which brings me to eReaders.\n\nI've mentioned this before on the _AppleInsider Podcast_ , but I think Apple needs to bring Apple Books to Android as well. This would allow people like me that use Apple Books to explore alternative hardware.\n\nI'd love to check out a Boox or even this interesting Xteink X4 product mentioned in the _Aftermath_ story. But I'm not going to use Amazon, nor do I want to start over elsewhere or pirate collections. Sure, I believe there's a way to get my Apple Books collection out, but then I still want to have my reading sync to my Apple devices.\n\nI don't think it is that far-fetched to think Apple Books could come to other platforms. Fingers crossed.\n\n## A return to purpose-built gadgets\n\nI love my iPhone and iPad and will continue finding new ways to utilize them in my life. However, I'm also happy to note that they can coexist with these other products too.\n\nWhat would be even more interesting is a happy medium between it all. Let my futuristic cassette player send a Bluetooth signal to my iPhone to update play counts in Apple Music. Let's get a save state syncing service that preserves my save data on Analogue and syncs it into a save format compatible with Delta on iPhone.\n\nI own a smart water bottle, scale, and toothbrush. My home is a smart home. Gadgets are certainly making a huge comeback.\n\nIt's not that I think everything should be connected to the internet, nor do I even like that as a concept. But I do think that we can embrace the retro idea of gadgetry while taking advantage of modern technologies that improve our quality of life.\n\nAs a gadget nerd, it is certainly a very interesting time.",
  "title": "Nerds are fighting to bring back gadgets even as iPhone wants them dead",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-18T19:47:24.369Z"
}