Smartphones have been around for more than a decade now, continuing their glorious journey as one of the most desirable gadgets ever invented. Their ascension, in turn, has inevitably led to the decline of other products that were replaced by them or pushed out of the market thanks to the ever-increasing number of functions and apps. The right apps can add many functions to any smartphone today, like the one that can turn your mobile into a portable casino or the others that transform it into a step-by-step navigation device. And here are the devices that it has made obsolete over the last decade.
Compact cameras
Compact digital cameras went mainstream around the turn of the century and proceeded to eliminate analog cameras from the market. They have reached the peak of their popularity in 2009 – they were not threatened by the smartphone and “dumb phone” cameras of the time as they had superior capabilities to both. Then the sales of compact digital cameras have started to decline rapidly, pushing them to the brink of extinction, while smartphone sales have continued to soar. Today, the very need to own a compact camera is eliminated by the smartphones that can snap pictures superior to any of them.
Today, more people than ever own a camera – but for the vast majority of them, the camera is included in their smartphone.
Portable media players
The Walkman was a truly revolutionary product, putting music in people’s pockets – and ears – for the first time in history. For a while, portable cassette players were all the rage, followed by innovative devices like the Discman, the iPod, and many others. And, as usual, they were all replaced by newer, better, more desirable devices – the smartphones.
Mp3 player sales have declined by 87% between 2007 and 2016, and will continue to do so until they are completely eliminated – and iPods, too, will meet their doom in front of their more capable brother, the iPhone.
Handheld gaming devices
Of course, Nintendo’s Switch and Sony’s PlayStation Portable are still holding strong – but pretty much every other portable gaming system has succumbed in front of the smartphone. Not that there were so many – the combined forces of Sony and Nintendo took care of most of them. This shouldn’t be a surprise, though, as there are more than half a million smartphone games available in both major app marketplaces, including apps that emulate classic gaming consoles.
But Nintendo and Sony still refuse to succumb in front of smartphones – last year, Nintendo has reportedly sold more than 7 million 3DS consoles, and Sony’s PlayStation Vita is also still alive and kicking.
