2010s Technology: Gadgets, Computers And Tech Trends

Smartphones take over, everything moves to streaming, and the cloud eats the hard drive.

Below: the gadgets in ordinary 2010s homes, what computing looked like at the time, what changed across the decade, and the details anyone who was there will remember.

Useful for a reminiscence session, a quiz round, or working out what someone grew up using.

Years covered in the 2010s

• 2010 - A hung parliament, a volcano that stopped the planes and the first iPad. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2010
• 2011 - The royal wedding, the riots and Adele's 21. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2011
• 2012 - The Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics in one extraordinary summer. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2012
• 2013 - A royal baby, Andy Murray at Wimbledon and the horsemeat scandal. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2013
• 2014 - The Scottish referendum, the ice bucket challenge and streaming joining the chart. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2014
• 2015 - The Queen's record reign, Leicester's title run beginning and Adele's return. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2015
• 2016 - Leicester won the league, Britain voted to leave and a lot of people died. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2016
• 2017 - Grenfell, the Manchester Arena attack and a snap election that went wrong. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2017
• 2018 - A royal wedding, a heatwave and England reaching a World Cup semi-final. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2018
• 2019 - A cricket World Cup final nobody could believe and a December election. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2019
• That is every 2010s year we have written up so far: 2010 to 2019.

Gadgets of the 2010s

• Smartphones as the only gadget most people carried.
• Tablets, led by the iPad from 2010.
• Smart speakers - Amazon Echo reaches the UK in 2016.
• Fitness trackers and smartwatches, the Apple Watch from 2015.
• Drones, GoPros and 4K televisions.

Computers in the 2010s

• Cloud storage replacing the memory stick and the external drive.
• Chromebooks and tablets in schools instead of computer rooms.
• The Raspberry Pi from 2012 bringing tinkering back.
• Laptops lasting longer and being replaced less often.
• Working in a browser rather than in installed software.

Tech trends of the 2010s

• Netflix and Spotify ending ownership of films and music for most people.
• 4G making video on a phone normal.
• Contactless payment, then paying with a phone.
• Social media moving from computers to phones and taking over evenings.

What people remember

• Charging anxiety and carrying a battery pack everywhere.
• The family photo album becoming a camera roll nobody printed.
• Smashing a screen within a week of buying the phone.
• Realising you had not used a paper map in years.

How to use this

• Reminiscence: ask what the first one they owned was, and what it cost - the price always gets a reaction.
• Quiz round: read a gadget and ask for the decade.
• Themed party: put the 2010s playlist on and lay a few old gadgets out on a table.
• Present: a print of the machine they learned on lands better than a generic card.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Prices are the best prompt - work out what a gadget cost in a week's wages and the room goes quiet.
• Ask what broke and how it was fixed; repairs get better stories than purchases.
• Check the dates before using these in a quiz - launch year and the year it reached most homes are rarely the same.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 2010
• Look back to 2011
• Look back to 2012
• Look back to 2013
• Look back to 2014
• Look back to 2015
• Look back to 2016
• Look back to 2017
• Look back to 2018
• Look back to 2019
• 2010s calendar: year by year
• 2010s trivia: fun facts
• 2010s holidays and travel
• 2010s food and recipes
• 2010s music: albums, artists and songs
• 2010s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
• 2010s books, films and TV
• 2010s party playlist
• The 2010s: the whole decade
• Phone party games
• How to run a quiz night
• Decade music round questions
• Guess the year quiz
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays by era
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What gadgets did people have in the 2010s?

Smartphones as the only gadget most people carried. The full list above covers the equipment found in ordinary homes that decade.

What were computers like in the 2010s?

Cloud storage replacing the memory stick and the external drive. The computing section above covers the machines and how they were used.

What were the big tech trends of the 2010s?

Netflix and Spotify ending ownership of films and music for most people. The trends section above lists what changed across the decade.

Do you sell technology or retro gadgets?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a care-home session.