Biggest Tech Fails of the Decade

The last decade was a breakthrough period for technology and innovation, resulting in some incredible innovations. Among the tech companies that sailed high this decade are Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. But there were also some big tech fails. In this list, we’ve identified the top five tech flops of the decade. Which companies did the most? Let’s look at them one by one.

Apple Maps

While Apple Maps is on the right track, the app has been plagued by delays and poor performance, which has cost it a blemish-free public image. Apple CEO Tim Cook vehemently refused to apologise for the issue, and even suggested that users move on to other mapping services like Bing. However, the app has improved significantly in recent years, and Apple has invested billions in making it more “Apple-like”.

Apple has spent billions of dollars developing Apple Maps, but the app’s usability has been criticized by many. Apple’s map system lacks public transit information, and has countless usability problems. Apple also failed to incorporate crowdsourced data into its maps, causing users to lose confidence in the app. While Apple aimed to provide better maps for their users, the app was plagued with many problems, including incorrect directions, inaccurate location information, and missing landmarks. Nevertheless, Apple’s lackluster mapping service has become one of the biggest tech failures of the decade.

Google+

The social network was launched by Google in 2011, but failed to catch on with users. It lacked the functionality that Facebook had, including a tile-based news feed. The site was eventually shut down, citing a security flaw. The failure arguably made it the biggest tech failure of the decade. In April, Google announced it would no longer be supporting the service. However, there are still several reasons why Google+ failed.

Before Google+, there was Buzz. This social component of Gmail allowed users to post status updates, photos, videos, and links. But, it was discontinued due to privacy concerns, as it used Gmail information without user permission. Despite its failures, Google did release some good products derived from the platform. It’s hard to believe that Google would abandon something so promising. This year, the tech world will finally get to find out.

Apple TV

The Apple TV was meant to revolutionize television viewing by bringing iTunes media to the living room. However, the set-top box lacks a number of important features to become a game-changing entertainment system. Apple missed the chance to become the first truly streaming video device. But the company did have a few positives to boast about. Even Steve Jobs admitted that the Apple TV was really more of a hobby for him than a business venture.

The Apple TV was designed to connect your TV to your computer and play pictures, video, and audio content. Unfortunately, the device struggled to find a market for its product, and it required an HDTV to function properly. The video quality was also sub-par. But, Apple has since fixed that problem. The latest version of the Apple TV comes with a faster A14 processor and a redesigned Siri Remote.

Magic Leap

If you were looking for the biggest tech failure of the decade, look no further than Magic Leap. A small startup with less resources than the FAANG group, Magic Leap aimed to create the next generation of computing, but has since laid off half its staff and is focusing on the enterprise market. However, its failure to launch suggests that the next generation of computing is probably in the hands of the FAANG companies.

After raising $2.6 billion in funding, Magic Leap struggled to meet its sales targets. The company had to overcome challenges associated with miniaturizing its technology and suffered from losses of around $50 million a year. When it finally released the Magic Leap One headset in 2017, the company talked itself down to selling only 100,000 units. In six months, the company sold just 6,000 headsets, far short of its target.

MySpace

MySpace was launched in 2005 to attract “Generation Y”, a group of 13 to 15-year-olds. The site reached its peak when users uploaded party photos. As time went on, those photos were outdated and users soon flocked to Facebook. This proved that MySpace failed to cater to its original market. While Facebook is still a hugely popular social network, MySpace’s lack of innovation and lack of user experience led to its demise.

The problem with Myspace was that it was owned by News Corp., and executives were pressured to generate profits as quickly as possible. However, the company’s investors were more patient and willing to risk early losses for the future of the site. This led to a slow and buggy site. Facebook’s design incorporated some of the innovations from Myspace, but the company never figured out how to fix its problems.

Kinect

Kinect has been one of the most disappointing technological advances of this decade. Although the technology has sold extremely well, it still hasn’t met its promise as a game controller. Though it failed to meet its original goals, Microsoft is trying to make up for its shortcomings by encouraging developers to adopt it in other ways. One such option is voice control, which wasn’t much of a hit when the device launched, but has gained momentum in the past year or so.

Despite its potential, Kinect failed to live up to its promise. The system was slow to respond to motion, lacked precision, and had narrow use cases. The technology also had limited reach compared to button-based controllers. Animojis are a new form of emoji, but they do more than just capture audio and facial motion data. Rather than translating that data into emojis, Animojis are designed to mimic the human face, and are similar to enhanced voice messages.