The Top 10 Technology Fails
If you’ve paid attention to technology trends in the last 10 years, you’re likely to recognize some of the top 10 technology fails of all time! Check out some of these tech launches that flopped or failed in one way or another.
10. Hoverboards
In early 2015, hoverboards began showing up as a popular new toy among teenagers and, shockingly, adults. However, their early success didn’t exactly pave the way for the future – as they paled in comparison to modern-day scooters and OneWheels.
9. Segway
At one point, Segways were thought to be the future for city dwellers. Though, with their creator’s death due to riding off of a cliff on one, it looked like quite a rocky start. Three years later, following a very public presidential fall, Segways lost popularity and, seemingly enough, relevance.Â
8. MoviePass
In the first place, MoviePass seemed like a great way to get people back into theaters regularly. Being able to watch one movie a day in the theaters for $9.99 a month – that’s priceless. MoviePass was hoping that subscribers wouldn’t actually become daily visitors. On the contrary, moviegoers were seeing movies and doing more things including using passes as an excuse for parking validation.
7. Galaxy Note 7
If you remember the initial release of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 in late 2016, you probably remember their untimely fate as well. Within a month of its release, there were over 35 reports of these phones bursting into flames. Eventually, Samsung recalled the phone and rendered all existing devices useless.Â
Dreadful Disasters in Information Technology
Want to learn more about how Samsung goofed with the first folding phone? Check out our article on IT disasters.
Learn More and Laugh6. Theranos
In the hope that they would revolutionize the blood test, Theranos was a giant scam devised by Elizabeth Holmes, who used standard lab tests instead of the ones that she was selling. She lied to investors, VCs, corporate executives and customers. Ultimately, her fall from grace came in 2018, when she was indicted on nine counts of wire fraud. As if that wasn’t egregious enough, Theranos claimed a $100 million revenue stream in 2014 when, in reality, was only $100,000.
5. BlackBerry
Back in Y2K, BlackBerry was used by millions of worldwide subscribers. However, by 2012, when Apple released the iPhone 4S, BlackBerry began dropping the ball. Once they shipped out tablets without an email client, their success ship had sailed on out as they released more faulty products.
4. Windows RT
Microsoft Windows’ first Surface tablet with a desktop mode was grossly disappointing as you couldn’t install all of your desktop apps. Furthermore, it was slow, buggy, and didn’t have native apps like its competitors offered. Microsoft ended up writing off $900 million (yes, you read that right) due to this flop.
3. Nintendo Virtual Boy
On August 21, 1995, Nintendo released the Virtual Boy in North America. Though it looks similar to a modern-day virtual reality headset, the Virtual Boy was anything but. It, for some reason, only used black and red colors, and only came with a flimsy stand to keep it upright. This, paired with the inventor’s death, led to a decline that Nintendo chose to sweep this under the rug.
2. Apple Maps
When Apple Maps was launched in 2012, it aimed to take on tech-giant Google in iOS 6. In spite of high hopes, Apple Maps fumbled with its buggy, non-marked landmarks and buildings. All in all, Apple managed to rebuild a more functional Maps from the ground up, but Google is literally out-of-this-world expanding their street views to space.
1. GoPro Karma
In 2016, there were other concerning things going on than the U.S. presidential election. For instance, drones falling from the sky. Since the Karma was released with a faulty battery latch design, its ratings plummeted much like its drones.
In Conclusion
Well, what do you think about the top 10 technology fails? Unfortunately, we couldn’t include all of them! Did we miss one you think should’ve been listed? Let us know in the comments below, and thanks for reading!Â
Resources & Further Reading
10 of the Worst Tech Flops of All Time. (2021, March 25). Retrieved April 05, 2021, from https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-programs/ms-in-information-technology/resource/ten-of-the-worst-tech-flops-of-all-time
- Epps, R. (2018, March 5). Biggest Tech Failures of All Time. Retrieved April 05, 2021, from https://vocal.media/01/biggest-tech-failures-of-all-time
Staff, V. (2019, December 20). The 84 biggest Flops, fails, and DEAD dreams of the decade in tech. Retrieved April 05, 2021, from https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/20/21029499/decade-fails-flops-tech-science-culture-apple-google-data-kickstarter-2010-2019
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