When you think of the ‘80s, you probably think of color, spandex, and oodles of teased hair. If you grew up in that delightful decade of excess, life was defined not just by interesting fashion choices, but also by a combination of technology and culture that hadn’t really been seen before. Music, gaming, communication, computers, cameras… there were so many innovations that brought technology into everyday lives in new and exciting ways.
Today, we’re going to look at 10 of the most influential of those ’80s technology innovations that have had a lasting impact. If not for these inventions of the ‘80s, life would be a lot different today!
Curious about ‘90s tech? Check out our article: The 10 Most Influential ’90s Technology Innovations
Personal Computers
The first IBM personal computer on the market was model number 5150, which released in August 1981, and to say that it was influential is probably an understatement. Many of today’s personal computers are descendants of this original in some way.
But, IBM wasn’t the only one to make a splash in the ‘80s. Though older Apple computers had been around for some time, it was in January 1984 that the Macintosh made its debut. What made it different from IBM was that it featured the first graphical user interface, a built-in screen, and a mouse.
Mobile Phone
Yep, we wouldn’t all be walking around with miniature computers in our hands if not for both the personal computers of the ‘80s or the introduction of the mobile phone. The first mobile phone on the commercial market came in 1984 — the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x. The “brick” phone as we now call it took 10 hours to charge, and offered about 30 minutes to an hour of talk time. But it had a fancy LED display and damn if it wasn’t a statement to own one in the ‘80s.
Microsoft Windows
If you don’t own an Apple computer that runs macOS, you almost certainly have a PC that runs some version of Microsoft Windows. Windows 1.0 debuted in November 1985, and was basically Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s graphical user interface for their computers. Though it received some harsh criticism and didn’t sell like gangbusters, you can’t deny that Windows has since become one of the most popular operating systems of all time.
Nintendo Gaming Consoles
Though the Atari came before Nintendo in the 1970s, Nintendo really revolutionized and popularized console-based gaming in the ‘80s. The Nintendo Entertainment System was released in North America in 1985, and quickly rose to popularity. But that’s not all — Nintendo also introduced one of the first handheld gaming devices with the GameBoy in 1989. Today, Nintendo has basically combined the two into the Nintendo Switch, making it both a home console and a handheld portable one.
Want more Nintendo? Check out our article: The Most Popular Christmas Toys from 1980-2000
Compact Discs
Though the ‘80s are often associated with cassette tapes, we also get to credit this decade with the invention of Compact Discs. In 1982, Sony released the first commercial compact disc player, the CDP-101. Back then, only the wealthy had CD players, but eventually they would become cheap enough for everyone to own.
Camcorders
In 1983, the first consumer grade camcorders hit the market with Sony’s Betamovie BMC-100. As you might guess by the name, these used Betamax tapes. But by 1985, Panasonic released their own version of the camcorder that used VHS tapes, and soon the Betamovie died out along with Betamax tapes.
Disposable Cameras
These days, disposable cameras are pretty much gone unless someone is really wanting a nostalgia kick, but back in the ‘80s they were new and exciting. Introduced first by Fujifilm in 1986, soon enough Kodak, Canon and Nikon all developed their own versions of the disposable camera that soon flooded into stores. They were easy to use, cheap, and readily available in a way that regular cameras weren’t.
Artificial Human Heart
Though some form of the artificial heart had been around since the late 1940s, it wasn’t until 1982 that one was successfully implanted into a person — the Jarvik 7. These hearts were used as a bridge to transplantation rather than a permanent solution. Modern artificial hearts can be traced back to the design of the Jarvik 7.
DNA Fingerprinting
These days, everyone knows about DNA — heck, you can send in some spit and get your DNA analyzed pretty easily for ancestral or health purposes. But the repetitive patterns of DNA in humans were discovered by accident by Dr. Alec Jeffreys in 1984 when he was doing research on hereditary diseases. He discovered that every person could be identified by the specific variations in their DNA. Today, DNA fingerprinting, or profiling, is used in all kinds of applications, but most famously in criminal investigations to exonerate or convict suspects.
Space Shuttle
Back in the early days of NASA, the machines used to send people into space weren’t meant to be reused. But by 1981, they had developed space shuttles designed for routine transportation from Earth-to-orbit and back again. Missions carried out by space shuttles included carrying large payloads to various orbits including the International Space Station (ISS), providing crew rotation for the space station, and performing service missions on the Hubble Space Telescope.
What was your favorite tech invention of the ‘80s? Did your home have a PC or a Macintosh? Let us know in the comments!
- Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. Unfortunately, two of them ended in disaster. The Challenger disintegrated due to a faulty rocket booster in January 1986, and the Columbia broke up on reentry in February 2003.
- The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X mobile phone was priced at $3,995 in 1984, which would cost about $10,113 in 2021 dollars when calculating for inflation. That’s a pricey phone!
- Sales for the IBM PC exceeded expectations by as much as 800% — at one point they were shipping up to 40,000 PCs a month. The company also estimated that 50-70% of PC sales in retail stores went to the home.
- Much like today, Mac computers were more expensive than their IBM counterparts. A 1985 Fortune survey found that 56% of American companies with personal computers used PCs, compared to Apple’s 16%.
- The first portable CD player, the D-50, was released by Sony in 1984. They cost about half the price of the CDP-101 we mentioned above, and became profitable within a year and a half of release. These portable players were originally called “Discman” but changed their name to “CD Walkman” in 1997 to capitalize on the popularity of the Walkman branding.
- Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. Unfortunately, two of them ended in disaster. The Challenger disintegrated due to a faulty rocket booster in January 1986, and the Columbia broke up on reentry in February 2003.
- The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X mobile phone was priced at $3,995 in 1984, which would cost about $10,113 in 2021 dollars when calculating for inflation. That’s a pricey phone!
- Sales for the IBM PC exceeded expectations by as much as 800% — at one point they were shipping up to 40,000 PCs a month. The company also estimated that 50-70% of PC sales in retail stores went to the home.
- Much like today, Mac computers were more expensive than their IBM counterparts. A 1985 Fortune survey found that 56% of American companies with personal computers used PCs, compared to Apple’s 16%.
- The first portable CD player, the D-50, was released by Sony in 1984. They cost about half the price of the CDP-101 we mentioned above, and became profitable within a year and a half of release. These portable players were originally called “Discman” but changed their name to “CD Walkman” in 1997 to capitalize on the popularity of the Walkman branding.
