Items made obsolete by smartphone rise in past decade

CHICAGO — The smartphone’s rise in prominence over the last decade has served as the death knell for many former household tech staples. In just 10 years, smartphones have become the Swiss Army knives of the tech world, being able to do so much more than simply making phone calls and sending text messages.

Here are some items you’ll never need to buy again thanks to your smartphone.

• Address book

Keeping a dedicated address and phone book has become a thing of the past thanks to smartphones.

Even memorizing loved ones’ phone numbers has fallen by the wayside. It’s so much easier to simply tap the person’s name.

• Alarm clock

Having an alarm clock by each bedside used to be the standard in every home. Today, however, with the ability to set multiple alarms at once, select which days to have the alarm trigger and even analyze your sleep in the process, smartphones are the new bedside staple.

• Calculator

You don’t have to worry about finding batteries for your calculator because the same functionality is included in your phone.

• Calendar

Calendars are great for keeping track of events and dates, and you won’t miss your appointment with the calendar in your smartphone, unless you leave your smartphone on your desk.

• Camera

If there’s one thing smartphones have truly made mainstream, it’s photography.

• Outdoor thermometer

Why get out of bed to check the weather when you can just grab your phone and see current and future weather conditions for your location and anywhere else in the world?

There’s still a use for thermometers, but not in most residential applications.