10 Biggest Tech Fails of the Decade – CTech

Every year dozens, if not hundreds, of new technological products reach the market. Some, like iPhones, Netflix, and Facebook, become overwhelming success stories, while others are ultimately deemed complete failures, sometimes even scams.

You might recall how in 2014, social networking apps promising users the ability to post anonymously began to sprout, prompting users to publish secrets, gossip, and exclusive scoops about their own friends. Perhaps the most famous was mobile app Secret, which enabled users to communicate incognito with their existing social circles on other social networks. Other apps, including Yik Yak, Whisper, and Ask.fm, soon caught on. At its prime, Yik Yak Inc. managed to raise $75 million from investors such as Sequoia Capital, while Secret Inc. raised over $35 million.

9. Magic Leaps AR glasses

Founded by Israeli entrepreneur Rony Abovitz, Plantation, Florida-headquartered Magic Leap Inc. was supposed to be the next big thing. The company claimed it could bring augmented reality technologies to the masses with capabilities that have yet to be seen outside of science fiction movies. But when its long-awaited headset was finally launched last year, tech enthusiasts were disappointed to find a less than revolutionary device, compared to existing products on the market. Earlier this month, The Information reported that Magic Leap was only able to sell about 6,000 pieces of its $2,300 device in the first six months following its launch, quite a disappointing figure for a company that managed to raise several billion dollars from investors including Google and JP Morgan.

About 18 months ago, rumors began to surface that Samsung was reviving its plans to produce a mobile device with a flexible screen. Such screens have been around for several years and were exhibited at leading tech conventions but have yet to be implemented in an actual product until Samsung took on the challenge and work on the first foldable smartphone began. The Galaxy Fold was launched in February this year but was soon christened a catastrophe.

The funny thing about Google is that while it is among the internets undisputed rulers, it has yet to gain a substantial hold on the webs three main innovative fields: social media, instant messaging, and enterprise cloud computing services. Most prominent of all is its failure in the realm of social networks, driving it to decommission all of its attempts, four so far, in the past 10 years.

6. Uber and Lyft

Ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft gained much public attention since their launch, but their failure revealed itself fully once they decided to go public. Uber had a valuation of $120 billion before its Nasdaq initial public offering (IPO) in May, which brought its market capitalization down to just $75 billion. Since then, Ubers stock has further devalued, from $45 per share at the time of the IPO to $30.67 at market close Friday, losing nearly 40% of its worth. Ubers massive losses amounted to over $5 billion in the second quarter of 2019. Its rival Lyft is in slightly better shape with $644 million in losses for the quarter but has also seen a devaluation of over 30% since its March IPO. Both companies are unlikely to become profitable before 2021.

Early in the decade, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg believed his social network should become the internets main source of information. To achieve this goal, it was not enough to have its app at the top of every mobile phone application store, and in 2013, Facebook tried to make its own Android-based smartphone to further control users content consumption. Three models were eventually manufactured by HTC, all of them shelved after failing to meet sales expectations.

Alongside his relatively successful companies, Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk also tried his hand at mass transport, with Hyperloopa sealed system of air-free tubes through which a passenger pod would travel at high speeds without resistance or friction, saving on fuel. Experiments began in 2014 but not a single kilometer of active hyperloop tunnel has yet to be built. Even Musk has seemingly moved on to standard, boring, car tunnels, founding The Boring Company in 2016.

More of a hoax than a business failure, Juicero Inc. is one of the best examples of how investors can get temporarily side blinded and waste money on fake tech. Juicero sold a $400 kitchen counter device that supposedly produced fresh, cold-pressed juice from vacuum-sealed bags sold separately. In 2017, Bloomberg called Juiceros bluff, showing readers the bags can be squeezed manually to receive the same result as the presser. A day after the story was published, The Verge reported Juicero was offering all of its customers a full refund. The company went out of business five months later.

1. Samsung Galaxy Note 7

First place had a lot of worthy contenderssome more infuriating such as Apples butterfly keyboard, malicious joy invoking such as Amazons smartphone, or hopeful as to the fate of humanity, such as the death of Googles smart glassesbut none more impressive a failure than Samsungs Galaxy Note 7. Launched in 2016, Samsungs flagship smartphone received high praise for its advanced technological capabilities and large screen but less than a year later, the company had to recall it. The reason: its batterys tendency to spontaneously combust, at one time on a plane mid-flight. Credit Suisse analysts estimated the damages suffered by Samsung as a result at $17 billion.

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10 Biggest Tech Fails of the Decade - CTech