Becoming a parent or maybe getting older is making me miss and want some of my previous beloved gadgets.
Very soon I will be a parent to a second child. My wife is currently 37 weeks pregnant and to say we are excited would be an understatement. With that excitement also comes some anxiousness and I feel like researching and buying old tech is my therapy right now.
Some may not think all of these items that I am desiring are considered retro but for me it is. A lot of times the word retro is used more for gaming, but now that I am in my mid-30s and some of the gadgets that I miss and love are now 20+ years old, I consider them retro.
With our new baby coming, a lot of other things are going on right now. Some health concerns with family members, work is insanely busy, and my wife is in nesting mode so our house is currently under minor construction– paint, custom shelving, remodeled fireplace, furniture replacements, etc.
So scrolling through YouTube videos of people buying and using old iPods, ThinkPads, iPhones, and MacBooks has become a place of comfort and peace for me. The problem is, it has also led me to buy or bid on some things I don’t necessarily need.
The big justification for it though is that these gadgets are cheap. At least the more used and weathered ones. I plan to restore or modify some of them, which could accur additional costs, so these are not only fun gadgets to collect, but future projects to enjoy.
So here is a brief list of the things that I am currently bought and hopefully it inspires you to maybe find some deals on some nostalgic tech for yourself:
iPhone 11 Pro
I am currently having some issues with work-life balance right now, and having my phone be the same for work and personal has not been helping. It has been a great almost six months experiement since I decided to ditch my personal phone and use my work phone with two sim cards (to have my personal and work phone number on one phone).
The benefits sometimes feel like they outweigh the problems, but unfortunately as I get closer to having more responsibilities at home I am going to have to let some benefits go. One of those big benefits is having my work calendar and personal calendar together so I can schedule my family events inline with any work meetings.
This can still exist on my work phone, I just won’t have it on my personal phone since my work doesn’t allow me to connect my work email or calendar to personal phones. So I will still have some of the benefit, just not with me at all times if I don’t have my work phone with me.
I do look forward to having some features back with using my personal Apple ID on my phone again, so I can use iMessage on my iPad or a future Mac. Also other handoff features like sharing a clipboard, better Music Library consitency, etc. Using two Apple IDs has been fine, but being able to be back on my personal for all my devices will bring back some cohesion between my devices.
When deciding on a personal phone though, I got caught up in some nostalgia. I could have decided on a iPhone 12 Mini through iPhone 15 Pro, with varying prices for used and new options. I even looked into leaving Mint Mobile and and going with AT&T but the sticker shock of going back to a popular cell provider and installment plans were enough to keep me away.
As I scrolled through Amazon Renewed options and used phones on Swappa for iPhones, my desire for old tech got the better of me and couldn’t help myself in picking up one of my all time favorite iPhones; the iPhone 11 Pro in Silver.
You would think I would be able to pick up a 11 Pro for really cheap with it being 4 years old, but a renewed version still costs around 400 dollars. This isn’t too expensive, especially for a really well performing iPhone, but it also isn’t a steal.
I really wanted to get one in very good, near mint, condition so it was worth it to me to pay a little more. And I am so happy that I did. The scratch-less shiny silver casing and almost perfect rounded edge display is just amazing to hold in your hand.
I like the iPhone 12 style phones, but I really do miss the hand-feel that previous iPhones offered, which I think peaked with the iPhone 11 Pro. Though it does feel a little slippery sometimes, the stainless steel and frosted back just feels so nice.
So even though I am back to two phones, I am pleased to be back on an older iPhone that I love so much. Looking back, I think the reason why I miss this phone so much, and feel like it is a blur when I owned it, was because I had used it mostly during the COVID lockdowns.
Not that being at home isn’t a bad place to use a phone, but not using it for more things outside of the house makes me realize how much I didn’t really get to use the phone to its full potential like using it as my wallet with Apple Pay, photography, and other daily things that I do on the go.
I don’t know long it will be for me to want a newer iPhone to take advantage of other features like ProMotion, better cameras, and an Action Button, but for now I am happy to be back to my old but beautiful silver iPhone 11 Pro.
2012 MacBook Air 11-inch
Another item that I have always coveted but only owned breifly was a 11-inch Macbook Air. I bought a 2017 13-inch MacBook Air years ago, but never thought about or was tempted to buy a MacBook Air until much later.
I did buy one breifly in 2018 that was a 2016 model that I thought about using as a secondary device since at the time I was using an iPad only. I ended up selling it to a friend who needed a laptop after realizing I didn’t need it.
The reason I got one now today was simply because I wanted it as a tinkering device. Not only has it become a mini writing device for me, but I decided to install Linux on it to give me some broader familiarity with other platforms.
The only experience I have had with Ubuntu is on an old Rasberry Pi that I no longer use. It was a personal VPN and Plex server for awhile, but after a few moves and new internet providers I got tired of having to reconfigure it. Due to the Pi’s hardware, I knew Ubuntu was only being used at its minimal performance potential, so I was excited to use it on something a bit more powerful.
Installing Ubuntu on the MacBook Air was a breeze, and after updating the theme and look of the OS with Gnome extensions and tweaks I am happy with how it not only looks but performs. I found a theme called Orchis that I really like, and it makes the interface feel unique when compared to macOS and Windows 11 — which is what i was going for.
The model MacBook Air I got on eBay is a 2012 released version with an i5 Intel Processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 64 GB SSD. Nothing special. If anything it sounds pretty weak. But with Ubuntu installed this thing runs like a champ. And with still half of its battery life left, 480+ cycles out of 1000, the battery life is actually still really good too.
The display is not great, but usable for a 11-inch size, and the keyboard is just a pleasure to use. The keybaord is one of the main reasons why I was looking forward to making this a mini writing device since it feels so good to type on, but also being super tiny to just throw in a bag.
I still love my Asus Zenbook 14X OLED, and the display on it is really hard to beat. But the utility of the MacBook Air has been a joy. With Ubuntu running, I never notice any slow downs, and so far everything regarding the hardware works great. I can use all of my function row buttons for brightness and volume no problem.
The MacBook Air 11-inch I think is one of the most perfect laptops Apple every released. I think the 12-inch MacBook had the same potential, but lacked in so many areas with it’s unreliable keyboard and slow processor options.
If they could have just thrown a retina display in the 11-inch chassis like they did with the 13-inch MacBook Air much later, I honestly think it would be a contender for the perfect computer. The funny thing is though, the display really isn’t that bad from a certain distance. It is very usable for writing — which I am doing now on it — and picking it up for only 75 dollars is a steal.
iPod Classic 7th Generation
The last piece of tech that I personally picked up is a 7th Gen iPod Classic. The last version of the classic style iPod that Apple released and discontinued years ago. I also wanted one, but could never justify the $300 price tag when it was still available to buy. Now that it has been years later, I was able to pick it up for only 65 bucks.
The iPod is pretty beat up, but still functions perfectly. I mostly bought it to restore it with a custom case, additional storage and battery, and possibly add a bluetooth radio if I am capable. I know putting on a new case, click wheel, battery, and SD Card are pretty straightforward with the right parts, but I haven’t done a ton of research yet on adding bluetooth.
Even if I don’t add bluetooth, what I was ultimately looking for in getting an iPod is an analog device that I could use to remove myself from the internet. Sometimes when I am driving in my car, or doing stuff around the house, I am always eager to listen to podcasts. Or when I am relaxing it is so easy to scroll through social media instead of giving myself a break from a screen.
The iPod gives me a chance in my car, or when I am sitting down with a book, to just listen to music without any other option. I could put Audiobooks or Podcasts on it, but never will. It is also a great device when I am trying to focus at work or writing at home. Sometimes when I open Apple Music it is easy for me to get lost in deciding which Playlist or Artist I want to listen to.
With the iPod, I just hit Shuffle Songs and just enjoy whatever plays next as I jump back into MarkText or a SQL Developer. The nostolgia in using the device is pretty strong. Especially in the state that the device is in now. With an physical hardware installed, it is funny hearing the disk drive click as it starts up to play a song.
I also love the sound of the click wheel as I scroll through songs and navigating the OS. Like I stated before, the device itself works great even though the case is pretty beat up. The back is so scratched it looks like it came with a brushed metal back and not shiny. Once I decide to restore it, I plan to go over what I plan to do and how it turns out.
As I stated in my last post Overlapping Tech, these are some examples of me embracing gadgets because I want them, not because they fit a specific need that nothing else can. I will probably still use my iPhone with my AirPods Pro for music more than the iPod, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need it for certain situations.
Paul Alvarez
I also could beat myself for having two laptops now, but I love that I have a more professional and powerful Windows 11 machine for when I need to get serious work done, or just want something with a better display when I want to enjoy it, and at the same time have a tinkering laptop that I can just throw in a bag and not even notice it is there.
We will see how long the iPhone 11 Pro will last. It will be 5 years old once the iPhone 16 comes out this year, so it falling into legacy status is approaching fast. But I just love using it so much. I don’t only love the hand-feel either, one other thing that I love about this device is how easy it slips into and feels my pocket with its round sides.
Sometimes it is good to reflect on tech we loved in the past and remind ourselves on where I technology started out. The iPhone X and MacBook Airs were amazing gadgets when they first came out, and even though they are getting long in the tooth, doesn’t mean that are still not capable machines for other uses today.