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Apple's Biggest Hardware Flops of All Time

The Apple Lisa is one of the neatest looking computers I've ever seen. Almost straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The fact that it was expensive was its downfall. But it ran a multi-tasking operating system, featured an internal hard disk and up to 2MB of protected memory - features the Mac wouldn't get for years. The chassis with the logic board and expansion cards slides right out the back, similar to the Mac Pro of 25 years later.

I think they're beautiful machines. Oh, and they could run Mac OS... faster and better than its relatively underpowered and cheaper successor, the Macintosh.

Lisa.png
 
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I always liked the look of the cube, but sadly it was released long before I was old enough to be able to get one on my own. And the price was certainly too high to be a birthday or Xmas gift.

And like a lot of older Apple hardware, while I could get one now just for the sake of it and nostalgia, it would be one more trinket lying around and a fair chunk of change lost for a momentary high.
 
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Patchwork said:
You could add iPod HiFi, the Quicktake 200 Digital Camera (ahead of its time but too expensive and lacking software support) and eWorld to the list. I think by Apple’s standards the original HomePod would be considered a failure too.
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The article headlines hardware flops, and the original HomePods remain a spectacular piece of hardware engineering still today. The flop was in product positioning/ marketing.
 
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Great article, I didn’t actually know about most of these.

And now that I know that Schiller was the one defending the cube, his “can’t innovate anymore my ass” comment is even more ironic. That damn trashcan wasn’t even innovation. It was just a slightly modified version of something that he personally saw them try and fail. And then he learned nothing.
 
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goobot said:
So basically it’s when Apple sells something beyond over priced their product fails. Reminds me of the gold Apple Watch Edition and og homepod. I’m sure the new vr stuff will fall into the same category tbh
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Gold Apple Watch only existed as a marketing tool to generate buzz.
 
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code-m said:
Tbh Apple has not had much success with speaker systems. The reviews are always great but the price high and Apple always manages to cripple it with something on the HomePod case connectivity options.
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The 2006 iPod Hi-Fi is widely know as one of the biggest flops in regards to speaker systems.

apple-introduces-new-mac-mini-ipod-hi-fi.jpg

Steve was trying to claim it represented home stereo reinvented, compared to a pair of powered speakers or a home audio setup. Problem was there was zilch stereo imaging as the speakers were too close together. He literarily arranged for all competing traditional computer speakers to be removed from the retail Apple stores to coax consumers into buying this 15 pound speaker solution.

ipodhifi1-s.jpg


from a review
Apple's entry into the "hi-fi" speaker market has not been met without skepticism. After all, the iPod Hi-Fi's marketing materials would leave one to wonder if Apple has simply never heard of customers using their iPods with anything other than the bundled earphones. The premium pricing doesn't seem to help matters either; at $350, the iPod Hi-Fi is up there with the most expensive iPod speaker systems. Pundits may cry, "Who does Apple think they are, Bose?" Of course not Apple which says almost as much about the iPod Hi-Fi as any review in its entirety could.
 
I7guy said:
Not too many duds since 2001 or so.
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iPod Hi-Fi (2006)
3rd generation iPod shuffle (the one with no buttons) (2009)
2nd generation Mac Pro (the trashcan) (2013)
MacBook and MacBook Pros with Butterfly Keyboards. (2015-2019)
AirPower (2017) - a product that was announced but failed before it was even released!
 
code-m said:
Apple should have included a similar solution as MacBook MagSafe or a lightening or USB-C in the front. It’s an unusual design choice to basically demonstrate that it only needed to be charged less frequently that it’s not a hassle.
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I have the Magic Mouse. It is typically charged once a month. Having the port underneath would be unusual if it needed recharging every couple of days. Charge it overnight and who cares if the port is underneath and it doesn’t take that long to charge from 0 - 100…maybe a couple of hours
 
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Patchwork said:
You could add iPod HiFi, the Quicktake 200 Digital Camera (ahead of its time but too expensive and lacking software support) and eWorld to the list. I think by Apple’s standards the original HomePod would be considered a failure too.
Click to expand...
I had the camera - low res and I still don't know whatever happened to it. Then I won some kind of contest and Hitachi awarded me an MPEG Cam - ahead of it's time, and worked great for Vid - someone broke into my car in Santa Cruz and walked away with it.
 
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I used an Apple Newton for many years, as a therapist. It was amazing and recognised my writing 99% of the time. It was very useful for keeping track of clients’ notes. The screen went weird in the end and I couldn’t write on it, that was the problem for me. I wish I still had it. It was way ahead of its time, and brilliant!
 
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TheYayAreaLiving 🎗 said:
Where is Apple’s Original HomePod? How come it didn't make the list?

View attachment 2142060

www.macrumors.com

HomePod: Should You Buy? Features, Reviews and More

Introduced in January 2023, the second-generation HomePod looks nearly identical to the first-generation HomePod but it has new temperature and...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

www.macrumors.com

Apple Discontinues Full-Sized HomePod to Focus on HomePod Mini

Apple has discontinued the standard HomePod to focus exclusively on the HomePod mini, reports TechCrunch. First introduced four years ago,...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
Click to expand...
Why do you feel it should be on the list?
 
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Add to the list:

-Ping
-Magic Mouse with charging port on the bottom.
-USB-C only Macbook Pros
-Apple Music GUI
-That daft touch bar thing.
-The trash can and it 50 Dongles.
 
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www.theverge.com

The 84 biggest flops, fails, and dead dreams of the decade in tech

Some of these ideas caught fire — but not in the ways their creators hoped.
www.theverge.com www.theverge.com

Android Authority: Tech Reviews, News, Buyer's Guides, Deals, How-To

Your source for the best phones, streaming, apps, headphones, deals, games, Chromebooks, smart home tech, and more.
www.androidauthority.com

www.failory.com

Google Cemetery: Learn from Google's +100 Failures

Learn from Google's +100 failures to build profitable businesses and scale acquired companies.
www.failory.com www.failory.com

These lists put the MacRumors article in context. I like to calm down the trumphant Apple skeptics here at MacRumors a bit ;)
 
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I think, you are wrong that in 1993 picture in picture was not invented yet. I saw Steve Jobs presenting his NeXT computer. He showed a scene from "Starwars" in a window while he was moving the window around the screen. This was obviously before Steve returned to Apple.
 
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v0lume4 said:
While Apple clearly has a history of exorbitant prices, I would point to the iPhone Pro models (which should just be the regular iPhone models), the $1,200 M2 MacBook Air with 8/256 RAM/storage, Apple’s soldered RAM and SSD upgrade prices, the $6,000 Max Pro, the $2,500 16” MacBook Pro with 512GB of soldered storage, and the $600-700 Mac Pro wheels as characteristic Tim Cook.
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Not all businesses are engaged in a race to the bottom. Only the stupid ones.
 
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v0lume4 said:
Can we just acknowledge that 100,000 people bought a $30,000 computer?

First ever GUI on a home computer though! Wow.
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Yes, the GUI was a milestone of human progress in management and actualization of information - as if that had entered into another dimension.
 
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v0lume4 said:
Can we just acknowledge that 100,000 people bought a $30,000 computer?

First ever GUI on a home computer though! Wow.
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Mind boggling given the capabilities of that machine. Did it really offer that much value at the time?

And for more perspective, that’s something like $80k in 2023 dollars. That’s a sizeable capital expense for even big companies.

Edit: it’s been pointed out that the 30k figure WAS already adjusted for inflation.
 
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