I think that contemporary platforms can't have distinctive graphics / audio where you can look at a screen and say "that's a ZX spectrum game!" or hear a buzz and know "it's a C64 tune!". So the distinctiveness gets limited to the physical design of the device (for the looks) and maybe some default start-up and other sounds (for the sound).
You said VR - I suppose the first VR platform with full field of view could be rather memorable, but the first software won't be ported especially for it unlike just about any ZX Spectrum game...
I feel that the limiting factor is now software, not hardware. There are way more great PS4 games in our imagination than in reality, while, with the ZX Spectrum, most of our imagination easily outran the platform's ability. This made each platform advancement more exciting. I couldn't care less when the new Samsung Galaxy 7 comes out because there's no software I want that my Galaxy 3 can't run.
But that's just how I feel as someone born 6 years after the ZX Spectrum. So someone younger will have to comment to really answer your question.
I think somehow we're wired to get attached to a system architecture and how people create representation that will create sensations/emotions in you. A sense of using the bandwidth of a system to its limit. A holistic interaction that is not filled by high density / high resolution (I like the sound of FM radio more than clear CD-A, I enjoy using an old Nexus S for its low-res LCD even though my moto G is high DPI).
You said VR - I suppose the first VR platform with full field of view could be rather memorable, but the first software won't be ported especially for it unlike just about any ZX Spectrum game...
I feel that the limiting factor is now software, not hardware. There are way more great PS4 games in our imagination than in reality, while, with the ZX Spectrum, most of our imagination easily outran the platform's ability. This made each platform advancement more exciting. I couldn't care less when the new Samsung Galaxy 7 comes out because there's no software I want that my Galaxy 3 can't run.
But that's just how I feel as someone born 6 years after the ZX Spectrum. So someone younger will have to comment to really answer your question.