Skip to main content
Tech Radar TechRadar the technology experts
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
  • Phones
  • Computing
  • TVs
  • AI
  • Streaming
  • Health
  • Audio
  • VPN
  • More
    • Cameras
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Opinion
    • How to
    • Versus
    • Deals
    • Coupons
    • Best
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Amazon Prime Day
  • Back to school
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Best VPN
  • ChatGPT
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best laptop
  • Best web hosting
Recommended reading
AI generated images of 1955 from ChatGPT
Artificial Intelligence I tried the new ChatGPT trend that gives you a glimpse into the past - here’s how you can too
Best Star Wars Day Deals
Entertainment Best Star Wars Day 2025 Deals – Shop new Lego sets, Funko Pops, Galaxy-themed tech, and more for May the 4th
Apple WWDC 2025
Software How to watch WWDC 2025: get ready for big iOS, macOS and Apple Intelligence updates
LG Cinebeam Q being held from its handle
Projectors How to build an outdoor cinema setup this summer
Apple WWDC 2025 logo
Software Apple WWDC 2025: dates, timings, and everything we're expecting from the big software show
Scarlett Johansson's Zora holding a tranquilizer rifle in Jurassic World Rebirth
Entertainment New movies: the most exciting films coming to theaters in July 2025 and beyond
A Google I/O 2025 logo
Android How to watch Google I/O 2025 live – tune in for the latest Gemini, Android 16 and Wear OS news
  1. Tech

How to live like Marty McFly

How-to
By Matt Hanson published 21 October 2015

How to live in the future

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Happy Back to the Future Day

Happy Back to the Future Day

It's Back to the Future day! This is the date that Marty and Doc leapt forward in time in Back to the Future II, and when it was released in 1989 the film showed a vibrant and exciting futuristic October 21, 2015.

Now that the date has arrived how easy is it to live as if we're in the future that Marty and Doc flew their DeLorean into?

It's actually surprisingly easy and we'll show you how you can live like Marty McFly in 2015.

Page 1 of 12
Page 1 of 12
Travel by junk fuelled vehicles

Travel by junk fuelled vehicles

In Back to the Future II, Doc uses junk to power his DeLorean, and while the majority of our vehicles in 2015 still rely on petrol, you can get around in transportation that's powered by waste.

If you're in Bath or Bristol in the UK you can now ride the "Bio-Bus" which is powered by human and food waste, which is turned into biomethane gas.

Page 2 of 12
Page 2 of 12
Pay for a taxi with your thumbprint

Pay for a taxi with your thumbprint

Series bad guy Biff takes a taxi in Back to the Future II and instead of paying with cash, he simply pressed his thumb onto a scanner.

Thanks to biometric fingerprint scanners on our smartphones, along with services such as Apple Pay, it's becoming increasingly commonplace to pay for things using just our fingerprints.

Taxi apps like Uber also allow us to book and pay for taxi rides without having to pay in cash.

Page 3 of 12
Page 3 of 12
Police officers in LED message-displaying uniforms

Police officers in LED message-displaying uniforms

Want to relive a classic scene from the movie in 2015? Simply pass out in an ally way, and when you get picked up by the police, insist they wear clothes that can display flashing messages, just like in the film (please don't do this in real life).

CuteCircuit is a website that specialises in fashion that allows you to send and display messages via Twitter on your clothes, so you can still experience a bit of the 2015 shown in Back to the Future II.

Page 4 of 12
Page 4 of 12
Slap on some Nike self-lacing shoes

Slap on some Nike self-lacing shoes

One of the coolest scenes that blew our minds back in '89 was when Marty McFly put on a pair of Nike MAG shoes that fitted themselves to his feet and tied their own laces automatically.

Amazingly this could actually be possible in 2015, with rumours swirling that Nike is planning on releasing self-lacing Nike MAG shoes to celebrate today's date.

While we're still waiting for the shoes, yesterday Nike raised the hype levels by tweeting from its official Twitter account to Michael J. Fox, the actor who played Marty McFly, saying "see you tomorrow".

Page 5 of 12
Page 5 of 12
Peel your face off to get rejuvenated

Peel your face off to get rejuvenated

Eeew. If you saw Doc Brown peeling off his face in the future to reveal a fresher, rejuvenated, mug underneath and thought "ooh I'd like to try that", then A) you're weird, and B) you can sort of do that.

Chemical Peels are a treatment that uses a chemical solution that's applied to the skin which then blisters. This is then peeled off revealing skin that should be smoother and less wrinkled than the old skin.

Page 6 of 12
Page 6 of 12
Get videoed on a flying drone

Get videoed on a flying drone

As Biff is arrested in the 2015 of Back to the Future II a flying drone from USA Today records his arrest.

Luckily you don't have to go and get arrested in the real 2015 to have a flying drone record what you're doing, as there are plenty of camera-toting drones, such as the DJI Phantom 3 Professional available to buy yourself.

Page 7 of 12
Page 7 of 12
Watch a 3D movie

Watch a 3D movie

One of the most iconic scenes in Back to the Future II is when a 3D holographic shark (advertising the thankfully never released Jaws 19) scares Marty McFly.

In the real 2015 it's incredibly easy to go watch a movie in 3D, and new cinema technology that uses laser projectors has been developed with the aim of making 3D movies cleaner, crisper and brighter than ever before.

Page 8 of 12
Page 8 of 12
Replace your windows with a TV screen

Replace your windows with a TV screen

Bored of the view outside your window? Instead of staring out at that concrete multi-storey carpark, wouldn't it be nice to instead see a beautiful mountain vista, just like in Back to the Future II?

Ultrathin and flexible televisions have been shown off by manufacturers in trade shows for a while now, so hopefully we should see it coming to products we actually can buy soon.

Ultra high definition 4K resolution screens are also becoming more popular, and with talk of 8K displays on the horizon we should soon see TV screens that can almost make us believe we're looking through a window to another world.

Page 9 of 12
Page 9 of 12
Wear a pair of smartglasses

Wear a pair of smartglasses

Marty McFly's kid pops on some smart glasses in 2015 in the movie, and we can do the same right now in the real 2015.

Although you'd be hard pushed to find smartglasses made by JVC (as shown in the film), other tech companies, such as Google and its Google Glass, have been making this scene a reality.

Page 10 of 12
Page 10 of 12
Video chat with people around the world

Video chat with people around the world

In Back to the Future II we see the future Marty McFly chat to his boss via video, and this is probably the easiest thing to replicate in the real 2015.

All you need is a webcam and a video calling service such as Skype or Google Hangouts to get going.

Page 11 of 12
Page 11 of 12
Send faxes

Send faxes

In the 2015 of Back to the Future II people send faxes – a lot of them – to each other.

If you really want to feel like you're in the amazing technological wonderland shown in the film then you'll probably be able to find a fax machine somewhere. Isn't living in the future amazing?

Page 12 of 12
Page 12 of 12
Matt Hanson
Matt Hanson
Social Links Navigation
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he's reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.

Read more
AI generated images of 1955 from ChatGPT
I tried the new ChatGPT trend that gives you a glimpse into the past - here’s how you can too
Best Star Wars Day Deals
Best Star Wars Day 2025 Deals – Shop new Lego sets, Funko Pops, Galaxy-themed tech, and more for May the 4th
Apple WWDC 2025
How to watch WWDC 2025: get ready for big iOS, macOS and Apple Intelligence updates
LG Cinebeam Q being held from its handle
How to build an outdoor cinema setup this summer
Apple WWDC 2025 logo
Apple WWDC 2025: dates, timings, and everything we're expecting from the big software show
Scarlett Johansson's Zora holding a tranquilizer rifle in Jurassic World Rebirth
New movies: the most exciting films coming to theaters in July 2025 and beyond
Latest in Tech
A Nintendo Switch 2 next to hands holding the Sigma BF and a B&O Bluetooth speaker sitting on a table
The best tech of 2025 so far – the 17 finest gadgets we've tested this year
The Xbox Series X Digital next to the new Dyson Airwrap and Nothing Headphone (1)
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Spotify's suspected AI band to Nothing's first over-ear headphones
Collage of tech deals from the Best Buy 4th of July sale
Best Buy's massive 4th of July sale ends soon – here are the 32 best deals I'd buy before it's too late
A Tesla car, James Bonds and Samsung's foldable promo image
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Tesla finally launching robotaxis (kinda) to Samsung's foldables teaser
Gaming desk setup featuring Nanoleaf Pegboard desk dock
I tried to make an immersive smart lighting gaming desk setup and failed horribly – here's why
The image is split into three sections and shows parts of an RGB keyboard, an orange Motorola phone, and a multicolored rope light.
Good tech doesn’t have to be boring – from headphones to smart lights, here are my top 6 recommendations for colorful tech that'll stand out from the crowd
Latest in How Tos
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar sprint to the finish line at Stage 12 of the 2024 Tour de France.
How to watch Tour de France 2025 on ITVX for FREE
Henry Lloyd-Hughes as DS Nathan Rose in Ragdoll
How to watch Ragdoll on BBC iPlayer (it's free)
Finn Russell of British & Irish Lions makes a break in the lead up to his side's third try, scored by Elliot Daly, left, during the tour match between Western Force and the British & Irish Lions at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia.
Waratahs vs Lions FREE streams: How to watch British & Irish Lions tour live online from anywhere
England players singing national anthem
Argentina vs England FREE streams: How to watch 1st Test 2025 rugby live online from anywhere
Novak Djokovic plays a forehand at Wimbledon 2025
How to watch Evans vs Djokovic online: live stream Wimbledon 2025 tennis FREE
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell go head-to-head at the Austrian GP.
How to watch British Grand Prix F1 on Channel 4 (it's free)
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    I took the Kia EV5 on a weekend away and it's a near-perfect electric SUV for families – with one major drawback
  2. 2
    I was pleasantly surprised how fast the Xiaomi Poco F7 could be, but in my review it fell short in ways that other bargain phones don't
  3. 3
    I've been using Iniu power banks for years, and this Best Buy July 4 power bank deal will give you hours of power at a great price
  4. 4
    I'm a big fan of Samsung's Ultra tablets and Best Buy's Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra deal drops the price so low I literally can't believe it
  5. 5
    XO, Kitty season 3: everything we know so far about the hit show's return to Netflix

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...