GPS

About

As of 2026, it's 26 years old.

Before your phone knew exactly where you were at all times, finding yourself meant a chunky handheld GPS unit, a clear view of the sky, and the patience to wait for it to “acquire satellites.” Consumer units took off around 2000, once the military stopped deliberately fuzzing the signal for everyone else.

Garmin’s rugged little eTrex and its rivals turned hikers, geocachers, and lost dads into confident navigators — as long as you didn’t mind a grainy green map and the device’s smug insistence on “Recalculating” every time you ignored it.

The trail companion that put a satellite constellation in your palm and made “we’re not lost, I have GPS” a household phrase — right up until the smartphone swallowed it whole.