Technology used to be something that existed on the fringes, but with time that has changed. You can’t go anywhere now without seeing technology being used. And for the most part, that’s a good thing. But there are some instances where technology backfires or even flops altogether. There have been numerous times when inventions that were supposed to change the world have been discontinued months after being introduced. Today we have put together a list of some of the most notable technological flops in the last few years. Sit back, relax, and have a good time scrolling through the list!
GOOGLE NEXUS Q
Google has done incredible things for the world through all its inventions. They have been a leader in the tech world for decades. But when they decided to come out with the overpriced Nexus Q, this was one of their first flops. The device was supposed to be used to stream music and videos, and while it did that, it didn’t do it well. People paid $300 for something that wasn’t worth it.
This happens so often with tech devices. They get hyped up, they are rolled out to the public, and then they just end up not being as good as advertised.
LEECO
Netflix is the king of streaming. It has been in the game for so long, and it has been strong for so long that it would be nearly impossible to top it. But LeEco, a company out of China, was trying its hardest to be the next version of the platform. That didn’t work out. Everything fell through, and the company couldn’t make a name for itself in the entertainment industry.
This would have been interesting to see come to life. Netflix has a lot of competition now, but most of them are from US companies. A foreign competitor would have been exciting.
APPLE WATCH
Apple Watches are everywhere now. Adults have them, kids have them, women, men, children, etc. But then they first came out onto the scene, the watches weren’t for your everyday person. There was a version of them that was over $15,000. And, as you would imagine, many people couldn’t fork over the money for this. So, as many people expected, the device flopped for Apple. Celebrities were the only people seen with these watches on.
It should come as no surprise that people would be against spending that much money on a watch! In some places, you could spend that much money and buy a car.
JOOJOO
Some things flop from a mixture of bad rollout, and just bad timing. For this device, it was doomed from the start. Its problem was that it just wasn’t as good as it was advertised to be. Not only that, but when it was about to come out, Apple’s iPad was to be released a few days later. No matter how good the device may have been, it was never going to beat Apple.
You have to feel sorry for this device and the company behind it. They were probably excited to put it out to the public, and then the iPad comes out. That’s pretty tough!
GOOGLE READER
Google Reader was made to help make the reading of news super easy for people who used it. And while many people enjoyed it, Google still decided to kill it anyway. This came as a surprise from people everywhere as the platform was something that worked well and had lots of users. After its death, Google created Google News. But it has never been liked as much as Google Reader.
There’s nothing worse than when something you love isn’t enough for a company. You and many people may like it, but if it isn’t performing to the standard of the company, it’s gone.
SECRET
People love to use apps where you can keep things a secret. And in 2014, there was an app that would let you send things to friends without your identity being known. It was fun, mischievous, and could have gotten you in trouble if you were figured out. But like most little apps such as this one, it wasn’t long-lived. People got bored of the app and just stopped using it.
Some app developers don’t create apps with longevity in mind. That seems to be the case with this app and others like it. They are fun while they last, but that’s not very long.
MAGIC LEAP
Many companies have tried to make glasses or headsets that would be a step toward making augmented reality and virtual reality closer to reality for us. Unfortunately, there have been many instances of these devices not working as planned. That was the case for Leap Frog’s AR set. They made big hype about the product, but once it finally came out, it was nothing like it had been described. It was a huge flop.
Everyone always thinks their invention for the tech world is going to be the next best thing. While that can be true, most times it isn’t. There are just too many products coming at once.
GOOGLE FIBER
Google is back with another failed product. This time it is the Google internet service. It seems like a company that makes so many wonderful devices would be able to have an internet service that would work. And for a while, Google told people that it was working, but that wasn’t the truth. The service never made it past a handful of cities, and it couldn’t compete with its competitors.
Creating an internet service is no easy task. So, for that, we can applaud Google for even trying to do this. But it seems like they enjoy biting off more than they can chew.
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Film fans can be unforgiving and a bit annoying. When the Justice League was released, plenty of people enjoyed it. But there was a rumor of a version of the film that was even better. “The Snyder Cut,” is what it was called. And fans were so passionate about it that they even managed to get a billboard to trash the original version because they wanted to see this hidden version of the film.
This must be the worst thing a director can go through. You make a movie, it makes big money, but people still hate it enough to want another version. That would be horrible!
MICROSOFT BAND
Everyone has a wearable device to help with health now. But Microsoft also used to have one. The device was meant to track people’s heart rate, and blood pressure, and you could even order Starbucks from it. But it never panned out how it was supposed to. It was clunky, had plenty of bugs, and seemed to cause a lot of problems for those who bought it. That must have been a tough loss.
Microsoft is a titan when it comes to the tech world. Everyone knows what they are capable of. So, it’s pretty surprising a company so big would have a product flop!
SOLYNDRA
Companies always need big names attached to them to help them grow. And Solyndra was able to get one of the biggest names in Barack Obama. But even that, and the promise of so many jobs, couldn’t help it to survive. After failing to follow through on its business plan, the company went under and filed for bankruptcy. We’re sure that Obama regrets connecting his name to this company now.
We couldn’t imagine having all of that hype and then just completely failing. That would be tough to take. We guess it pays off to be patient and humble in the tech world.
VALVE’S ARTIFACT
Being a game developer can be tough. You have to hope that people enjoy the game that you have built. Otherwise, they stop playing it and your game will just fade away. That was the case with the game Artifact. It was meant to be a huge game! And it had some big names behind the design of it. But after people finished playing it, they were done with it.
We’re sure that this must happen a lot in the gaming industry. With so many games, it must be tough for all those developers to fight for the same fans.
PONO
Musicians often get cheated out of a lot of money because of streaming platforms. That’s why Neil Young decided to create a music player and a store that would solve that problem. Unfortunately for him, the device, which was named Pono, was not very popular. No matter how hard they tried to get it to work and sell, it just didn’t work. It’s a shame because his idea was a good one.
Luckily for Neil Young, and other musical artists, the problem of making money off of streaming networks is slowly being solved. Hopefully, they get all that they deserve and more.
THE GOOGLE BARGE
Google is usually at the forefront of innovation. So, when they decided to take a barge that had storage containers and keep it in the bay near San Francisco, no one was surprised. It was outlandish, but it seemed on par with what a company like Google would do. Many people weren’t sure what the containers held inside. The barges were eventually made to move out of the bay because they were in the way.
We’re starting to think that if Google just did things normally, they would probably be able to complete more of their projects. We don’t expect them to change any time soon though.
FAKE AI
AI has been around for some time now. And as the years go on, it has grown more sophisticated. But there was a time when people were creating something known as Fake AI. It was meant to be AI that would take part in every area of our lives, but it didn’t work out that way. People and investors saw through the façade that the company had and turned their backs on it.
This doesn’t surprise us at all. People are always trying to find a way to use AI for something. And while it can do a lot, it also has lots of limits to it.
SAMSUNG’S GALAXY FOLD
Foldable phones were once the normal thing for people to have before smartphones. That’s what makes it so strange that Samsung tried to make them come back. The design was cool, and some of the things that they could do were cool as well, but it just couldn’t compete with the other phones in modern times. Not only that, but many people reported that the phones broke soon after they were purchased.
Foldable phones are a thing of the past, and that’s probably where they should stay. We have moved on to bigger and better things. But we’ll never forget flip phones.
ARSENIC LIFE
Scientists are often seen as some of the smartest people in society and for some good reasons! But once upon a time in California, scientists found what they thought was an organism that used arsenic in its DNA. That would be insane if true. But as it turns out, it was just a mistake by the scientist. And all the hype and fanfare that they built up quickly fizzled out.
Being a scientist sounds like a tough job. Being a scientist who makes a big mistake such as this one seems like it would be impossible to come back from. We don’t envy these people.
VR MOVIES
Virtual Reality has been around for some time, and as the years go on, it only seems to get better. But there was a time when directors were trying to make VR movies. And while the idea seems like it could be interesting and fresh, the amount of money they would cost, and all the cameras needed, weren’t worth the hassle. This was quickly realized and the efforts to shoot them simmered down.
We have VR everything now. And it’s cool! But there was a time when it just didn’t make any sense. When we use VR now, we should always think about how far its come.
GOOGLE+
This list could probably be made completely out of products made by Google that ended up failing. One of these products is Google+. It was meant to be a way that people could share things and was meant to combat Facebook, but it didn’t have the same number of people using it as Facebook did. Many people didn’t like it, especially since it was forced on them. Google ran it and then killed it.
When you have as much money as Google does, it makes sense that they have the capability to make these products. We’re excited to see what else they come up with.
THE ATTEMPT TO PHASE OUT INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULBS
Incandescent light bulbs were once everywhere. But as more environmentally friendly options came about, they were slowly phased out. But thanks to President Trump, they eventually came back. This was a silly idea not only because they were bad for the environment, but also because they were already the last choice for many people. The other options are so much better. It would be a waste of money to buy an incandescent bulb.
Lightbulbs play a big part in our everyday life. And we should always pick the options that are going to last the longest and be the most effective. That isn’t an incandescent bulb.
EVERQUEST NEXT
The gaming industry can be a hard one to navigate. Everquest Next was a game that was supposed to be the next World of Warcraft. It was supposed to be just as big and as fun, but it never really happened. The game never made it out of the starting blocks. After years of talk and stalling the rollout of the game, it was eventually canceled. What a shame for fans.
Gaming fans are diehard fans. They wait a long time for games, and they spend a lot of money on them as well. So, when something like this happens, you can understand their anger.
AEREO
People love to watch TV, and tech innovators love to create ways for them to do so. A company by the name of AEREO aim was to let watch people watch over-the-air televisions for a small fee. It was a really big dream to pull off, and unfortunately, they weren’t able to. Broadcast networks caught wind of the idea and decided to sue them. The lawsuits put a quick stop to their dream.
It’s strange to think about all the attempts there must have been to try and get streaming networks up and running before they were as popular as they are now.
GOOGLE TANGO
Google tried to get Google Tango off the ground, but it never really took off. It was meant to allow people to use Augmented Reality to have an overlay of where they were. It was a really cool and fun idea, but it never truly caught the attention of enough people. Also, the devices meant to hold the software never worked well. This seems to be a theme for Google!
Google must hear all the ideas of their employees and then just throw money at them. They have a lot of failed ideas. We wonder how normal this is for companies.
LEAP MOTION
Leap Motion created a controller that allowed its users to move their hands in front of a camera and have it show up on their computer. It was amazing, and it looked like it was going to be the start of something spectacular. But like a lot of other things on this list, the idea, and the product, amounted to a bunch of nothing. The company also ended up just disappearing as well.
Some of the things on this list genuinely seem like they would be cool. But they either miss an important component, or the funding and backing fall away. Some of the products need another chance.
FLAPPY BIRD
Everybody loves a viral game that can be played on a phone, so when Flappy Bird took over the world in 2014, it was no surprise that immediately shot to the top of the charts everywhere! Dong Nguyen, the person who created the game, was earning close to $50,000 a day. But he felt that the game was just too addictive and time-consuming. He eventually pulled the game from IOS and Android.
There have been so many games just like this one. But most people keep them up and let them make money. It’s surprising that the creator decided to go a different route with his creation.
ISIS WALLET
Mobile Wallets are popular and common now. But back when they were first getting their start, there was one called ISIS. We know that sounds horrible, but that was genuinely its name! Fortunately for everyone, the system did not last very long. It couldn’t give everyone access, and eventually, other mobile wallets that work started to come out. It died off before it even had the time to get popular.
What a horrible name to choose. It seems like there could have been millions of other options to pick from. Why that one? We’re sure the creators regret that decision every day.
QWIKSTER
Netflix has been around longer than most people probably realized. They used to have a small company that was part of them called Qwikster. This was meant to be the start of their pivot of separating their streaming platform from the DVD business. But Qwikster never really kicked off the way that many at the company expected it to. So, like a lot of the other things that are on this list, it died.
If you don’t remember this little side project from Netflix, you aren’t alone. It was so short-lived that most of the people who know about it probably work for Netflix.
LILY DRONE
Drones are so common now that we don’t even think about them as being amazing technological inventions. But there was a time when they were seen as something new and exciting. There was even a drone, known as the Lily Drone, that was meant to be able to go everywhere you went. But the company behind the drone never delivered on the deal. They promised drones, but never even shipped them out.
A lot of people put big money into this idea, and then when it fell through, they sued the company. This also seems to be a consistent theme with some of these tech inventions.
UBER’S IPO
Uber is a huge corporation nowadays, but before it went public, people thought it was truly the idea of the future. They were estimating themselves at an estimated 120 billion dollars, but it never went through. Instead, they were nearly at 76 billion dollars. This was a huge flop in many people’s minds. We think that more of these companies should try being humble. It may help when they fail to meet expectations.
This is one example of why you may want to try to be a little bit more humble. Uber clearly thought highly of themselves, but the rest of the world didn’t. That must have hurt.
THE “FACEBOOK PHONE”
Facebook seems like it has been around forever. And since it’s been around so long, it would be easy to forget some of the things that they have tried to come up with over the years. One of these is the Facebook Phone. Nobody cared about the phones, and both were pretty much laughed at and ridiculed out of existence. It’s probably a good thing. Facebook should just stay in its lane.
Companies sometimes get too big on themselves and start to get cocky. That’s exactly what happened here. Facebook has done a lot of good, but this phone was just stupid.
CHATBOTS
If there is one thing that everyone should know about the internet, it's that you are going to find some horrible people there. So, when companies tried to create chatbots that people could talk to and help the bots learn, it should have been no surprise that people were going to teach the bots horrible things. Because of this and other failures, these chatbots fell out of grace. It’s probably for the best.
The internet gives horrible people a place to roam without any rules. It’s upsetting, but it’s how it works. This really should have been predicted by the people who made the bots.
GOOGLE DAYDREAM
Virtual Reality has always been around. And people have been trying for so long to get it to work properly. Google Daydream was a VR system that was paired with Android. It worked for a little while before completely going dead. It was a lofty dream, but it just wasn’t possible to be pulled off. If we’ve learned anything about Google from this list, it’s that they don’t let failure stop them.
We doubt that all these failed attempts at VR are going to stop people from trying to get it right. They probably aren’t too far off. We can’t wait to see what the results look like in the end.
SOPA AND PIPA
A lot of good can happen when people get together and try to fight something. In 2012, a set of proposed laws were on their way to becoming actual laws. But thanks to organizing efforts by folks on the internet, the US government gave up the fight. The bills would have allowed the US government and copyright holders to add additional methods to stop piracy. More people felt like these laws were an overreach of power, so they fought back against them.
Protests can always be useful if people really put their all into them. A lot of people talk bad about those on the internet, and rightfully so, but there are few good people there as well.
VERIZON GO90
There have been several attempts to make streaming networks over the years. And while some of them can find back and a following, there are more that fail. One of those was Go90. This was Verizon’s attempt to have a streaming service that allow subscribers to pay for access to films and TV. It costs over a billion dollars and still failed. This must be one of the more expensive flops on the list.
Trying something new is always brave, so for that, we can applaud Verizon. But we can’t imagine the company was too happy about losing all of that money!
ANDROID TABLETS
Android and Apple are always going head-to-head with their products. There is no doubt that they are leading the race when it comes to phones, TVs, and laptops and other smart gadgets. But Android falls way behind Apple when it comes to tablets. Despite them trying and failing again and again to make a worthwhile tablet, Samsung keeps trying to create one that can compete with the iPad. It’s never going to happen.
Sometimes it's good to admit defeat. This is what we think that Android should do with their tablets. They are good at making so many other products, it’s ok to let this one go.