Must-have gadgets for kids in the Y2K are, predictably, making a comeback

Before all means of entertainment and communication were jammed into a smartphone, there was a time when gadgets were lo-fi and internet-free. Thanks to Gen Z, Y2K tech is having a moment right now. Teens are ditching iPhones for flip phones and canceling their Spotify subscriptions to buy Discmans and MP3 players instead. For Gen Zers looking for insight into the era, or anyone born before 2000 who finds this whole throwback weird and hilarious, here’s a roundup of a few nostalgic gadgets that we obsessed over back in the 2000s.

1/7 Flip Phones and Slide Phones

These phones bring back all the Y2K memories of T9 texting, Snake, and more. If it flipped or slid, it was the definition of cool. A few popular phones included the Kyocera Slider, Motorola Razr, and Sony Ericsson W595.

2/7 Digital Cameras

The humble digital compact camera is not only being used by celebrities like Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski, TikTok is also a huge force behind the comeback of the digicam, with over 137.3 million views on the term “digital camera trend”.

3/7 Sony Walkman D-NE10

Although cassette tapes were such an iconic way to listen to music, the format hit its peak in the 1980s before being quickly surpassed by CDs in the ‘90s. By the early 2000s, the Sony Discman D-NE10 was the new hype. Released in 2003, it features long playback, an exceptionally slim design, and advanced functionality. 

4/7 iPods

It’s fair to say that the iPod revolutionized the music industry. It was the starting point of the digital age of music. All of a sudden, you could hold all your favorite music in your pocket, wherever you were headed. It felt like technology couldn’t get any better than this.

5/7 The Sony Playstation 2

The best-selling console of all time, even today. When it was first released in the 2000s, the Playstation 2 was a phenomenon. If you owned one, you were automatically considered a cool kid. With Sony dominating the game industry, the PS2 success was immediate: 980,000 units were sold in one day in Japan.

6/7 Nintendo Game Boy

Before the arrival of our beloved Nintendo Switch, there was the Game Boy. During the early ‘90s and 2000s, it was the coolest handheld gaming device any kid could have. The Game Boy experienced several upgrades—the 1989 Original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color, the Game Boy Advance, and the Game Boy Advance SP. A few nostalgic games that every kid born in the 1990s bonded with include Super Mario, Pokémon, and The Legend of Zelda.

7/7 Tamagotchi

The Tamagotchi was tiny, but its impact was huge. Although it was more of a ‘90s fad, it lived through the early 2000s as well. The egg-shaped digital pet-raising device was a gadget that every kid wanted. As of March 2021, Bandai Namcohas sold a total of 83.73 million Tamagotchi units.