fb

These are the biggest tech flops of all time

From Apple's biggest flop to the phone that casually caught fire, these are some of the biggest tech flops of all time.

Published on Jun 9, 2023 at 2:43PM (UTC+4)

Last updated on Jun 9, 2023 at 2:59PM (UTC+4)

Edited by Kate Bain
tech flops, featured image

Did you know that Apple’s first computer was a massive flop?

And did you know that MySpace was once given the opportunity to buy a multi-billion dollar company for peanuts?

They turned it down and ultimately found themselves without a market value.

From mobile wallets with truly unfortunate names to the phone that casually caught fire, these are some of the biggest tech flops of all time.

#1. Apple's first computer was actually a huge flop, what was it called?

Introduced in 1983, Apple Lisa was a commercial failure because, you probably guessed it, it was too expensive. It cost $9,995 – equivalent to around $30,000 (!) in today’s money.

#2. What crazy successful social network did MySpace refuse to buy?

Mark Zuckerberg offered to sell Facebook to MySpace for $75 million in 2005 but MySpace refused.

MySpace is still active but it doesn’t really have a market value anymore.

Meanwhile, Facebook’s parent company Meta has an estimated market capitalization in excess of $600 billion as of June 2023.

#3. Who made the wannabe 'iPod killer' Zune?

Designed by Microsoft to compete with the Apple iPod, Zune flopped rather spectacularly.

Microsoft sold just two million units between 2007 and 2008.

During the same period, Apple sold nearly 100 million iPods.

#4. What was the name of Google's failed social network?

Google was released in 2011 but it was too little, too late, and it never really took off.

In 2019, just 8 years after the launch, Google finally pulled the plug and shut Google down.

#5. What was the first big tech company to launch smart glasses?

It’s been so long we nearly forgot about it but Google actually launched a pair of smart glasses 10 years ago in 2013.

Simply dubbed ‘Glass’, Google built several prototypes but the product never made it to production.

#6. What was Verizon's failed mobile wallet called?

In 2012, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T teamed up to launch a mobile wallet.

It didn’t really work very well and, more importantly, they gave it the worst name ever: ISIS.

Surprise surprise: it flopped.

#7. Why did Samsung recall the Galaxy Note 7?

In 2016, at least 35 Galaxy Note 7 phones caught fire, apparently for no reason.

At one point it got so bad airlines simply banned it.

Samsung had to recall the phone, and shortly after they retired the model and replaced it.

Finish

Results

Excellent job,

you know everything there is to know about the world’s most spectacular tech flops

Not great,

but the good news is you can always go over the questions and take the quiz again

Nailed it? Make sure to check out more of our quizzes here!

You might be interested in

Related Articles

Jaw-dropping timepiece made from parts of Ayrton Senna's car
All 6,000 residents of this Polish town live together on one street
Extraordinary rare footage emerges of iconic Concorde landing on Caribbean island
Apple planning on adding missing stock feature to iPad after 14 years
Electric flying car that got approval for test flights
Johnny Depp looking to splurge $5.15 million on historic castle in Italy
Doctor in Brazil used Apple Vision Pro for 'game-changing' surgery
Abu Dhabi launches A2RL, the world's first autonomous racing league