But for the most part, walkie talkies haven’t really changed in the digital era. Most of them look exactly like they did in the 90s.

But there is one company bold enough to re-think the mustache mundanity of the humble handheld communicator. I’m talking about Xiaomi's Mijia walkie talkies.

The first Mijia walkie, as we’re going to call them from here on out, was released back in 2017. You can see that it has a sleek, minimal design, but it still has some chunk to it.

Then in 2018 Xiaomi released the followup, the Mijia Walkie 1S. Not only is the Mijia 1S walkie much smaller than the original, it improves the speaker volume and adds Bluetooth connectivity, so you can use both hands on your covert mission.

Xiaomi's Mijia walkies can be charged over micro USB, play FM radio, and can even be used in conjunction with an app to share location.

In 2019 Xiaomi announced the successor to the Mijia 1S called the Xiaomi Mijia Walkie Talkie 2, or "2gen" as it appears on most import sites.

The big new feature is 5 watt transmission instead of the 3 you get on the 1S, plus a 5,200 mAh battery that's roughly twice as big. Xiaomi also switched the charging to USB-C, which is a big win.

So what's stopping me from dumping $100 into the coolest walkie you can get right now?

Unfortunately Xiaomi doesn't sell the Mijia walkies here in the U.S., and aside from the fact that these probably won't work with other U.S. walkies, you'd be technically breaking the law since you'd be using frequencies outside of those approved by the FCC.