It's hard to say what exactly makes a design timeless. Some classic devices are simply beautiful, while others remain functional years after their release. The list of truly timeless tech products is small, but there's one name that looms large: RobCo Industries' Pip-Boy. Sure, it's relatively simple and some of its features only work if you're trapped underground. But when a design hasn't changed in 200 years, you know it's doing something right.
For those who have been living under an irradiated rock, a Pip-Boy is a wrist-worn computer that, despite being originally designed for the pre-war world and, later, for life inside of a Vault-Tec vault, has become an indispensable tool. tool to survive in the wilderness. It's big and sturdy, though not particularly heavy or uncomfortable, and is equipped with plenty of satisfyingly chunky dials and buttons. From an aesthetic perspective, it's surprisingly versatile and goes with everything from a Vault-Tec jumpsuit to raider armor. You'll never really have to worry about when and where it's okay to use one.
The Pip-Boy is dominated by an always-on monochrome display. What the screen lacks in pixels, it makes up for in accessibility; It's bright and clear enough to see anywhere, whether under the blinding sun of the Mojave Wasteland or in the dank depths of a Yao Guai cave.
And you'll definitely want to check back periodically because Pip-Boy tracks all kinds of useful health information. The screen will let you know not only when he needs a Stimpak but also where on the body to apply it. And, perhaps most importantly, he has a built-in dosimeter that audibly alerts him when there is too much radiation around. Unfortunately, while it's great for getting life-critical information, the Pip-Boy skimps when it comes to more standard health features. It doesn't even have a step tracker.
But it's also more than a health device. The other major use of the Pip-Boy is as a GPS. The mapping feature helps you stay on the right path while you hunt for a bounty or search for out-of-the-way settlements, and the new AirTag-like tool allows you to track small objects, such as a dismembered body part that is of great importance to the Brotherhood of Steel, across great distances. The wasteland can be dangerous, but it's pretty hard to get lost if you have a Pip-Boy equipped.
The rest of the functionality is a handful of basic but useful features: a flashlight for navigating in the dark, simple games for those rare moments of downtime, and the ability to look at photos (even though the Pip-Boy doesn't have a built-in camera). ). None of these are essential, but they give the device a slight edge over the competition (although competing devices no longer exist).
What is perhaps most impressive about the Pip-Boy's success as a survival tool is that it was not originally designed to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. He was created in part to live in an underground bunker, meaning that if you somehow find yourself in a vault, the Pip-Boy has some extra features. There are smart home features that let you open doors with your wrist (although, naturally, the device only supports the Vault-Tec standard) and a messaging app for sending notes and tasks to other vault dwellers. Unfortunately, these features aren't very useful once you get to the surface.
Really, the best thing you can say about the Pip-Boy is that it just works. Centuries after it was first released, the device remains not only functional but vital. You'll never have to worry about a software update degrading the experience or whether the radiation sensor is accurate. And when you're in a life-or-death situation (which, let's face it, is something that happens every day on the surface), that reliability never goes out of style.
The big problem? Availability. Unless you are born in a vault or come across the corpse of someone who was, Pip-Boys are rare.
