those goose-necked electric-arc contraptions that probably hurt your retinas just like a tac welder
Here's the thing, people think the 2010s were devoid of technological novelties or advances in consumer devices and that really isn't true. The marketing and silicon valley hype cycles were all attached to the wrong things, though, so those technological changes happened as 'quiet revolutions' that people didn't notice.
For example, batteries got way more energy dense than ever before, which would lead to transformative devices like ebikes, but also lots of little novelties. Did you notice when the old style of 'stick' candle lighters was replaced by those goose-necked electric-arc contraptions that probably hurt your retinas just like a tac welder? That happened because you can now get absurd amounts of power out of off-the-shelf batteries.
These new battery chemistries really changed the equation of what electrical devices were capable of. And that's why the steel hordes that now terrorize all of humanity just keep coming, the lithium powered bastards. Me, I still carry my old zippo with me, on account of the EMPs. Kids these days don't even smoke. Anyway, put your helmet on, rookie, we're about to start shelling the Machine position and you should expect scattered retaliation strikes because that's what the algorithm likes this week.