25 Apple Failed Products: Biggest Flops, Notable Failures & What Went Wrong

Apple Inc., a trillion-dollar corporation, is a household name. Unboxing their premium products reveals the phrase "designed in California." The company has a great reputation for having the best products and has a crazy fan following. People who use Apple products swear by the quality and religiously wait for the new launches and buy them.

However, nothing in life is flawless. The same may be said about Apple. Although the company has introduced several extremely unique, game-changing ideas, not every product has been well received by fans, and some have been huge disappointments.

But this hasn't stopped the company from producing market-leading items regularly. However, the focus of this article is on Apple's flop products, which have received widespread criticism from customers as they failed terribly in the market.

Let's take a look at some of Apple's failed products.

Apple Failed/Flop Products

1. The Apple Newton

The Apple Newton was launched as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). The CEO at that time, John Sculley, led this idea of a personal digital assistant. The device had several features and task management applications. The Apple Newton is often cited among Apple failure products due to its poor handwriting recognition.

The main feature was the handwriting recognition one, where the device was able to understand and recognize different handwriting on the screen, but the outcome was disastrous. The device was nothing but a glitchy mess. Its ground-breaking idea was made fun of, and the company discontinued it after Steve Jobs came back to the company in 1998.

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2. Apple Pippin

Apple tried hard to enter the gaming console world by launching a product called Apple Pippin. During the mid-90s, the company released a cross between a gaming console and a computer system. The Apple Pippin was a video game console that was released in 1996.

The computer contained the classic Mac OS. The product would have been better but the features were really poor. The product had only a 14.4 kb/s modem and had no support from major game corporations. And a big price of $599 didn’t help the product at all. Despite being marketed as a multimedia device, it failed to compete with other popular consoles like the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 and was discontinued a year later. Apple Pippin was an Apple product that failed in the gaming industry.

3. Round Mouse

The company attempted to launch something unique and exciting but instead created one of the most disliked products in history. Apple thought they did something when they released the round-shaped mouse.

The company is known for its curved edges, but the limit was crossed when the round mouse was launched. Officially named the Apple USB Mouse (M4848), but famously known as the "Hockey Puck". The mouse was round, with a two-tone design. It was called clumsy because it rotated while using it, was small in size, and was weird to hold and use. It was one of Apple flop products.

4. The Apple Macintosh Portable

The company’s first attempt at portable computers was a horrible disaster. The Apple Macintosh Portable - a 4-inch thick portable computer was not easy to carry and could not manage even simple tasks.

Even though the Macbooks we have now had the best performance and design, this was not the case back then. The Macintosh was slow and would not even turn on sometimes, even after plugging it in. The Apple Macintosh Portable is one of the Apple products that flopped due to its weight and high cost.

5. The Power Mac G4 Cube

The cube-shaped computer was aesthetically pleasing to the eye, unlike the previously mentioned Round Mouse, but apart from the looks, nothing was special. The Apple Power Mac G4 Cube device was not well received and everyone hated it. The system didn’t have any monitors and was extremely expensive. While it was praised for its design, it was considered too expensive and lacked the processing power of other desktop computers at the time. The Power Mac G4 Cube had style but poor sales, making it one of the notable Apple flops. After a year, the product was discontinued because it failed to impress Apple fans.

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6. The U2 iPod

Apple attempted everything it could to make its U2 iPod a hit product, but no amount of marketing or promotion could save it. They collaborated with U2, a well-known Irish rock band, to release an iPod.

With a red-colored button wheel, U2 songs featured, and signatures of all the band members on the back, the branding was spot on. It was designed for fans, but it failed to impress the general public because it cost $50 more than the standard model. The U2 iPod is often seen as one of the worst Apple products because it offered little beyond branding.

7. Apple eMate

Apple launched eMate in 1997, but it was discontinued after only 1 year. It was not available to the general public and was only for educational purposes. It was only seen at educational institutions.

Apple is secretive about it too, as they never released the sales of eMate. The product was a hybrid between a computer, a laptop, and a PDA. It was quite affordable too, with a price tag of just $799.

8. Macintosh TV

In 1993, Apple released the gadget that prepared the way for the now-famous Apple TV. The device combined television with a computer, but one big limitation was that it could only accomplish one thing at a time. On its 14-inch screen, one can watch TV or use it as a computer, but not both at the same time. And all this came with a hefty price of $2,495.

9. eWorld

The company tried to create a virtual world and an online community where people could hang out, send emails, and much more. Apple eWorld was really advanced for its time but failed to impress as it was expensive and only available for Macintosh users, which limited the market. It was pulled off the shelves in 1996 as it was highly unsuccessful.

10. The Apple III

The Apple III computer was business-focused but failed to impress as it was poorly designed with no cooling fans to provide a silent, quiet working experience, which led to overheating of the device and ruining several components of the computer. This extreme market failure tainted the company’s image, and it was discontinued in 1984.

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11. FireWire

Apple is known for coming up with innovative approaches and challenging old technologies, which is exactly what it did when it introduced FireWire, a USB competitor. It was claimed by the business to be a speedier alternative to USB.

Nobody noticed the change and continued to use the existing USB port. Hardware manufacturers did not include a FireWire port on their products, as to do so, they had to pay Apple for licensing, which was not worth it.

12. Apple Lisa

Apple Lisa was the world's first personal computer with a graphical user interface. It was a step forward toward the future of personal computers. But the price tag of nearly $10,000 was way too much for the technology, the overall performance was not even good, and the fact that it was not compatible with many software applications led to poor sales. The company only managed to sell 10,000 Lisa in two years. It was discontinued in 1986. Apple Lisa is on the list of failed products because of its high cost and low adoption.

13. 20th Anniversary Macintosh

Apple 20th Anniversary Macintosh is an iconic piece of history as it was released to celebrate Apple’s 20 years of existence and business. It is also known as "Spartacus". The system was technically advanced and had many features like an LCD screen, Bose sound system, FM radio, and many more. However, it didn’t do well because of the hefty price of $7,500. Apple even reduced the price to $1,995 to clear out the stock and get rid of the failed product.

14. iTunes Ping

iTunes Ping was a music-based social networking service that was launched in 2010 for connecting with your friends and musicians. But when the product launched, it was not connected to Facebook (Now Meta), so it was really difficult to find friends on that, and the overall service was not up to the mark; hence, it was considered an unsuccessful product of Apple.

15. MobileMe

Before iCloud, the company had a similar thing called MobileMe, which was a collection of online services with a subscription of $99 per year. The features include storage space, a synced calendar and contacts, and so much more. But the service was not well received as people were unable to use it. People who were trying to subscribe couldn't sign up, and the ones who had subscribed were not able to access the service. It was a total flop and was shut down in 2011.

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16. Performa 200 Series

In 1995, Apple tried to launch cheaper computer systems while trying to cut costs. They destroyed their reputation as the computers were horrible to use and became popular among the population as "Macs to be avoided at all costs". The hardware was terrible, and the systems were painfully slow. Due to this, many people started believing that Macs were overall inferior and slower than Windows, which damaged Apple's sales in the 90s.

17. Homepod Original

Apple launched its smart speaker, HomePod, in 2018. While it received positive reviews for its sound quality, the price tag was so high as compared to other smart speakers on the market and failed to gain much traction. The later release of a smaller, cheaper version, the HomePod Mini, was the final nail in the coffin for the original HomePod.

After receiving criticism from the buyers, the company permanently reduced the price to $299 in 2019. That still didn’t help, and the company finally discontinued it in 2021.

18. iPod Hi-Fi

The main concern with the discontinued Apple products has always been the hefty price and the terrible performance. The same goes for the next Apple product, too. In 2006, Apple released the Hi-Fi, a high-end speaker system designed to work with iPods. The iPod Hi-Fi was meant to capitalize on the popularity of portable speakers with iPod docks. But the price of the speaker was so high that the general public didn’t buy it at all. We can't blame them because the product was $349, which was significantly more expensive than any other competing brand. While it received positive reviews for its sound quality, it was considered too expensive and failed to gain much traction in the market. It was one of the Apple products that

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19. Apple Maps

Apple tried to replace the pre-installed Google Maps on its devices by coming out with its own Apple Maps. It was for iPhones and iPads, but it was full of distorted images and wrong directions, and the final product was so glitchy and terrible that the CEO, Tim Cook, had to apologize for it. Apple didn't discontinue the product and launched a newer version that was much better.

20. iPhone 6

Who doesn't remember the infamous Bend Gate? There was a time on YouTube when all the tech channels were bending the iPhone 6 in their reviews. It became such a huge problem for Apple as it showcased its phone as not durable and of poor quality. The company claimed that it was only a case for a few iPhone owners and that a replacement would be conducted for those who were facing this issue.

21. Apple Butterfly Keyboard

Apple's most significant modern technology setback began in 2015 with the release of the 12-inch MacBook, which featured a keyboard with low-profile "Butterfly" switches. Although the ultra-slim design of the notebook was generally praised, the keyboard faced widespread criticism for its stiff and unresponsive feel, alongside complaints about the limited number of ports.

22. Airpower

AirPower was an unreleased wireless charging mat by Apple, designed to charge three devices simultaneously. Announced in 2017, it was canceled in 2019 due to multiple development challenges, including overheating, inter-device communication issues, and mechanical and interference problems. These technical difficulties prevented the product from meeting Apple's standards.

23. Macintosh Copland

Apple's Copland project, intended to revolutionize the Mac OS, failed due to overambitious goals, leadership changes, and significant technical challenges, including stability issues and missed deadlines. These problems, combined with competitive pressure from emerging operating systems, led to the project's cancellation in 1996. Apple ultimately shifted focus, acquiring NeXT to develop what would become macOS. Apple's Copland was one of the most unsuccessful Apple products.

24. iPod Socks

iPod Socks, a set of colorful knit covers for iPods, was launched by Apple in 2004. They were designed to protect the devices from scratches and came in a pack of six different colors. The product was discontinued in 2012 due to declining demand and the changing landscape of Apple's product line. As iPods evolved and new models were introduced with different form factors and built-in protective features, accessories like the iPod Socks became less relevant.

25. Apple Xserve

The Xserve, one of Apple's biggest failures, was Apple Inc.'s first rack-mounted server series. Designed for tasks like file serving, web hosting, and high-performance computing, it also came in a special "Cluster Node" version without a video card or optical drives fr use in computing clusters. Initially powered by a PowerPC G4 processor, it was later upgraded to a PowerPC G5 in 2004 and Intel Xeon processors in 2006, with both single and dual-processor options. Apple discontinued the Xserve in 2011, replacing it with the Mac Pro Server and Mac Mini Server.

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Apple's Weeknesses

• Apple’s Closed Ecosystem: Apple controls everything on its devices, software, apps, and services like Apple TV and the App Store. This gives Apple more control but also means it has to handle a lot by itself. Unlike Samsung, which uses Google’s Android system, Apple must do everything in-house, which can slow things down.
• Slow Innovation: People expect each new Apple product to be perfect and groundbreaking. This makes Apple careful and slower to try new ideas compared to companies like Google or Samsung, who release new products or updates faster. Apple still leads but others are catching up quickly.
• Other Challenges: Apple’s products are expensive, which could be a problem if the economy worsens. Also, Apple competes in tough markets like streaming (Apple TV vs. Netflix) and payments (Apple Pay vs. PayPal and banks). Apple relies more on its brand than heavy advertising.

Conclusion

Apple is a trillion-dollar corporation with customers all around the world. It has developed several cutting-edge products and services. However, like any other company, Apple has had its share of failures throughout its history. Apple has seen a few notable Apple failures over the years, including products like the Newton, the Pippin console, and the discontinued Xserve servers.

However, Apple's ability to learn from its mistakes and continue to innovate has enabled the company to maintain its position as a leader in the technology industry. By focusing on delivering products that meet the needs and desires of its customers, Apple has been able to thrive and create some of the most iconic products of our time. Ultimately, Apple's failures serve as a reminder that even the most successful companies are not immune to missteps, and that innovation often requires taking risks that may not always pay off.

FAQs

What are some failures of Apple?

Apple iPhone 6, Newton, U2 iPod, Apple III, FireWire, Lisa, Homepod were some of the biggest failures of Apple.

What was Apple's biggest mistake?

Dan Ives, an analyst said that Apple's biggest mistake was not acquiring Netflix years ago. The company does not have a major stake in the popular streaming giant.

How did Apple almost fail?

Due to overpriced computers, and mediocre service, the company was about to be shut down in the mid-90s.

What is Apple's main product?

The iPhone is Apple’s main product, with more than 1.7 billion iPhones sold since 2017.

What is the most famous failed product by Apple?

The Apple Newton is often cited as one of Apple's most famous failed products.

How has Apple's approach to product development evolved over time?

Apple has evolved its approach to product development over time by becoming more customer-focused, prioritizing simplicity and ease-of-use, and placing greater emphasis on design and aesthetics.

What can other companies learn from Apple failed products?

Other companies can learn from Apple's failed products by understanding the importance of listening to customers, balancing innovation with practicality, and being willing to learn from mistakes.

What products does Apple not manufacture?

Apple does not manufacture accessories like printer devices, external displays (non-Pro models), routers (like the discontinued AirPort), or TVs. It also doesn’t make game consoles, smart glasses (yet), or budget phones below a certain price point. Most hardware production is outsourced to companies like Foxconn.