Technology and how we use it has changed a lot over the years. However, despite the rapid advancements, traces of older tech still linger in our modern devices in the form of icons. Whether it’s your smartphone, video game console, laptop, or desktop PC, or even your smart TV, the digital world is filled with visual callbacks to the past.

Younger generations might not recognize the origins of these symbols, but many of us remember the real devices they’re based on. In fact, you might still use some of these vintage technologies today, without even realizing just how old they are. Here are some of the most recognizable retro tech symbols that are still in use today.

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Floppy Disk

Before we had vast amounts of storage available on our computers and in the cloud, we had floppy disks for storing (or, you might say, saving) data. While there were a few different sizes and designs of floppy disks, the most popular and prevalent one was the classic 3½-inch disk.

While floppy disks see little use today because of their extremely limited capacity and somewhat limited lifespan, the cheap and handy storage drives that we once kept inside our horizontal PCs or tucked into desk drawers live on today in the form of the save icon across thousands of apps, websites, and games.

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Vinyl

Vinyl records come from an era of analog audio storage that well predates personal computers. It’s strongly associated with music recordings, more so than any other form of storage media. Although vinyl doesn’t sound better than digital music on a technical level, enthusiasts still use and cherish it for its nostalgic value and satisfying tactile experience, among other things.

While a vinyl recording isn’t as prevalent and universal as floppy disks, it’s quite often used to suggest music, album collections, or even audio in general, often with a tonearm.

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CD

Compact discs (CDs) are a universal form of digital optical storage device that can store almost anything, including music, programs, video games, operating systems, and drivers. As such, it didn’t exactly have a distinct identity as vinyl records do with music. Additionally, since floppy disks predate CDs, the floppy disk became the universal save symbol long before CDs were widely adopted.

That said, some apps and games aim to stand out or appear more modern by using a CD icon instead of replacing vinyl icons for music (usually representing albums or collections) and floppy disk icons for saving (usually in video games). It’s also commonly used in apps and tools focused on CD ripping, burning, and playback, though I’m not sure if that still counts.

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Telephone Handset

Although cordless landline phones have existed for decades, many people still associate the traditional handset-style landline phone when they think of making calls. The handset is such a simple yet iconic piece that it’s hard to imagine anything else more fitting to use as the universal call icon across virtually all modern devices, operating systems, and apps. I can’t help but wonder if kids these days have any idea what the call icon they see every day actually represents.

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CRT TV

While some apps insist on using modern flat-screen TVs as icons to indicate watching media (or something related to desktop PCs if a cursor is added), it’s not a common practice. Modern TVs are essentially just horizontal rectangles, so even with legs or a stand added underneath, they still make for a rather forgettable icon.

Retro CRT TVs have a distinctly unique look, often featuring wooden trim, a speaker on the side or below, dials and buttons, and oftentimes a V-shaped antenna on top. It’s no surprise that this classic design has become the universal TV or broadcast icon across many apps and interfaces.

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Game Controller

Retro video game controllers and arcade joysticks serve as universal symbols for gaming. Unless a device features its own custom video game hub icon design, the icon used to represent video games is usually a stylized version of a vintage controller.

The icon is most often inspired by the rectangular NES or the “dog bone” SNES gamepads, but I’ve also seen interpretations of the DualShock and Xbox controllers.

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Hard Drive

While floppy disks are the most commonly used icon for the act of saving data, hard drives have become the universal icon for storage. This is usually depicted as a disassembled hard drive. Even though my laptop and PC no longer have HDDs (and likely neither does yours), Windows still uses an external HDD-style icon for the Local Disk.

Interestingly, this isn’t the only type of hard drive-related icon you’ll encounter. Vintage disk packs—stacked circular disks used before the invention of modern sealed hard drives—are commonly used today as a symbol for databases.

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Cassette Tape

Here we have yet another audio storage device. Cassettes are strongly associated with mixtape culture, so they’re sometimes used as an icon to represent street music, mixes, and playlists in apps and games.

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Microphone

While you might not associate a microphone with older tech because it’s still widely used today in everything from PCs to TV remotes and smartphones, it actually is relatively vintage technology.

To be more specific, the microphone icon that nearly every app and website uses for recording audio resembles an old-school dynamic microphone that was widely used for broadcasting and singing, such as the Shure 55SH. It was famously used by Elvis Presley, which is how it earned the nickname “Elvis mic.”

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Headphones

Much like microphones, headphones are rather old technology that dates back to the late 19th century. Despite being used daily and evolving in features and quality, their overall shape and design have remained largely unchanged over the years, even in the most unique models.

Today, they stand as a vintage icon still widely used to represent audio content. In fact, the headphone symbol is likely more recognizable for audio and music than CDs, vinyl, or cassette tapes combined.