It’s fun time – we present you gadgets that were supposed to change the world but flopped horribly.
Breath-taking revolutions in technology have brought us game-changing gadgets that became wildly successful, both critically and commercially. But for every groundbreaking hit, there is always an astonishing flop that will remind us that not all gadgets, no matter how innovative or widely commercialized, are bound to be successes, even when coming from top tech companies like Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KRX:005930), Nintendo Co., Ltd (ADR) (OTCMKTS:NTDOY), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Take for example these five gadgets or devices whose miserable failures serve as warnings to every development team aiming to create the next big thing.
5. Google Glass
In 2013, Google made a big bet that the future of computing and the successor to the smartphone would be a computer you can wear on your face, beaming the internet directly into your eyeballs. With the launch of Google Glass, the search giant offered an eyeglasses-like device that uses its lens as the computer display, features a camera that can shoot videos, and is navigated through voice commands and a small touchpad. The seemingly uber-cool device, which opened a whole new field of possibilities for mobile computing, was initially sold for $1,500 to a select number of early adopters and then to the public. But by 2015, Google had stopped making the glasses as sales and controversy sank the device.
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What exactly happened between launch and demise that turned this promising device into a massive flop? First off, Google Glass raised a lot of privacy and piracy concerns, because the built-in camera could be used to violate individuals’ privacy and even to pirate movies. Also, a lot of law enforcement bodies deemed the device unsafe to use while driving, while initial reviews from the early adopters were mixed at best. But while all that negative press contributed to the device’s doom, the product’s worst mistake was that it wasn’t able to find its actual market. Instead of selling to professionals who might find some use for the glasses, like physicians, policemen, and pilots, who need to see information while their hands are full, Google tapped celebrities and tech journalists as the first testers, perhaps as a bid to highlight the coolness of the product. Google, now a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), has since pivoted to emphasize the professional potential of Google Glass, but not after going through perhaps the most doomed gadget launch of this decade, up until…
And now, let’s see our list of gadgets that were supposed to change the world but flopped horribly.
4. Samsung Galaxy Note 7
Now, what could possibly beat privacy-violating eyewear as the definitive failed gadget of the decade thus far? How about an exploding phablet? Whatever Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KRX:005930)’s expectations for the Galaxy Note 7 were, they never anticipated that the latest, highly-anticipated flagship phablet would be recalled two months after launch. After all, the device boasts 4 GB of RAM, a high-definition curved display, a 12-megapixel camera, and the latest Android software. All those specs, plus Samsung’s reputation as the iPhone’s main rival, spurred thousands of preorders for the device, with 200,000 in South Korea alone in just two days.
What the customers got instead was a phablet that had the potential to catch fire or explode while charging. After the phablet’s launch in August 2016, Samsung initially offered to replace Galaxy Note 7 devices that were already sold, while claiming that a battery issue affected only 0.1% of the devices sold. Well, 0.1% out of hundreds of thousands of devices is still a lot of burning phones, so aviation authorities in the US and Europe banned the device from planes. The problem was so bad that even the replacement phablets that Samsung sent over were also fraught with combustion and battery failure issues. Hence, amid more bans from airlines and mounting incidents of fire, Samsung stopped making the Galaxy Note 7 in October 2016. It is estimated that because of this fiasco, $17 billion in potential revenue went up in flames for Samsung this year. And to add insult to injury, Samsung had to recall certain washing machines over, you guessed it, explosion risks.
And now, let’s see the top three gadgets that were supposed to change the world but flopped horribly.
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We’ll check out three more tech devices that failed to live up to the hype on the next page.
3. Nintendo Virtual Boy
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2. Apple/Bandai Pippin
Hey, remember the time when Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ventured into gaming? I bet you don’t, but in 1995, when Apple was Steve Jobs-less and lagging behind Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the PC wars, it tied up with Japanese toy and video game maker Bandai to create the Apple Bandai Pippin, the first and only console it developed. Apple created the software, specifically the Macintosh-based Pippin platform, and Bandai manufactured the hardware. Although the Pippin was supposed to be an inexpensive multimedia console with a boomerang-shaped controller that included a trackball, it sold for $599 upon launch in 1996, more than twice the price of the more-powerful consoles it competed against, including Sony’s PlayStation 1. The Pippin sold only 42,000 units before bowing out in 1997. Fast forward two decades and Apple’s role in the multi-billion dollar gaming industry right now is little more than being a vendor for the Candy Crush game you don’t admit playing. And now, let’s see the number one on our list of gadgets that were supposed to change the world but flopped horribly.
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1. Microsoft Zune
Compared to the aforementioned PC wars of the 1990’s, the ensuing MP3 player wars of the succeeding decade saw the two companies switch roles. Apple first came to market in 2001 with the iPod, the device that would spark the tech giant’s decade-and-a-half long run as mobile device mogul. Microsoft initially responded only by providing software for Creative, iRiver, and Samsung, until in 2006, it decided to fight the iPod itself with rival MP3 player Zune, hoping its device could be the Frazier to the iPod’s Ali. By then, it was too late, as Microsoft found it difficult to overcome Apple’s first-mover advantage and the ensuing market share the iPod gobbled up. Overall, Microsoft launched seven Zune devices of different storage capacities, but all ended up lagging way behind the iPod in market share, making the rivalry more like Mozart-Salieri, with the Apple selling 52 iPods for every Zune shipped as of 2010. By October 2011, Microsoft stopped creating Zunes, which by then had become a shorthand for a commercially failed gadget.
That being said, these were the 5 gadgets that were supposed to change the world but flopped horribly.
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Disclosure: None
