One aspect of “Star Wars” technology that seems to be lagging a century or so behind the cool robotics and spaceships is communication tech interface. Sure, the distances “Star Wars” comms have to cover are pretty impressive, but from a user standpoint, any decent Earth smartphone or video conference app mops the floor with the wobbly, discolored holograms the characters routinely use for long distance calls.
However, even those holograms are things of beauty and grace when you compare them to the thing the jealous Timm Karlo (James McArdle) uses in “Andor” Episode 2. As Timm sets out to reveal Andor as the person the authorities on Ferrix are interested in, he calls in the tip with what looks an awful lot like the “Star Wars” equivalent of an old school payphone.
On Earth, the humble payphone has been going the way of the dodo for quite a while, to the point that even notorious public payphone hub New York City removed its last working unit in 2022 (via CNBC). At least fans of this antiquated piece of technology can take solace in the fact that payphones are still kicking in the “Star Wars” universe.
