Thanks to a lot of impressive and mind-blowing inventions, emerging technology continues to transform our daily lives by increasing our convenience. However, the path to where we are now is littered with the remains of once-promising ideas. Not all technology can meet our expectations, and many meet their downfall despite huge investments and widespread anticipation. Below, we delve into five notable technological fails that remind us even the coolest ideas can easily become flops thanks to technology’s unpredictable landscape.

1. Juicero

Sound familiar? Juicero was a high-tech juicer that raised over $100 million in funding before its launch in 2016. Its function is pretty much explained in its name - it promised to deliver fresh juice from proprietary packs of cut fruits and vegetables. With the added power of Wi-Fi connectivity, the Juicero intrigued many across the nation. However, the Juicero quickly fell flat and received negative criticism for two important reasons: it had a sky-high initial price tag of $400, and the juice packs used for the gadget could be manually squeezed just as effectively. Completely unnecessary, the product was then deemed as a symptom of “tech industry excess” and Juicero quickly ceased operations just a year after in 2017.

Photo by Steve Jurvetson from Menlo Park, USA via Wikimedia Commons

2. Google Glass

Google Glass was an incredibly ambitious project that aimed to bring wearable technology to the mainstream. Introduced in 2013, this “smart glasses” idea offered augmented reality experiences and convenient features like hands-free texting and navigation to its users. Despite initial excitement from tech enthusiasts all over, Google Glass failed to take off. For what reason you might ask? Well for one, many consumers found the design too awkward and unattractive. It also had awfully short battery life, privacy concerns related to the device’s camera, and a very high price tag of $1500. It’s safe to say this tech invention turned out to be a major flop.

Photo by Ted Eytan via Wikimedia Commons

3. The Puls

Backed by the famous Black Eyed Pea’s rapper, Will.i.am, the Puls was a stand-alone smartwatch released in 2014 that aimed to combine fashion with functionality. Functioning as a phone, fitness tracker, music player, and more, it seemed like an extremely appealing product. Unfortunately, the Puls fell short in several key areas. The device’s large, cuff-like design was criticized for being uncomfortable and difficult to use while it also suffered from poor battery life, limited app offerings, and overall subpar performance. With one of its biggest pulls supposed to be an app that determines your mood when you talk to it, it was simply unnecessary. With fierce competition from other tech giants that produced higher quality accessories, the Puls was quickly discontinued after its initial run.

Photo by Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash

4. Microsoft Zune

In an attempt to challenge Apple’s impressive invention of the iPod, the Zune was created as a portable music player. Released back in 2006, the Zune offered features like built-in FM radio and a cool sharing function. But despite these features, the Zune failed to make a significant dent in the market, most likely due to Apple’s overwhelming dominance. Consumers claimed the device was way too bulky and found the software to be clunky, lacking the “cool” factor that the iPod had. Finding too much difficulty in the market, Microsoft discontinued the product in 2011.

Photo by Bkwparadox via Wikimedia Commons

5. Amazon Fire Phone

While you may be familiar with a lot of Amazon’s signature products, did you know they also tried to make their way into the smartphone market? Launched in 2014, the Amazon Fire Phone had features like a 3D display and Firefly object recognition, making it seem like a revolutionary product. Unfortunately, upon its release, consumers found the unique features to be gimmicky rather than useful. The Fire Phone also lacked access to the Google Play Store, limiting its app selection. Thanks to its poor sales, Amazon quickly discontinued the Fire Phone just one year after its release.

Photo by Chris F via Wikimedia Commons

As you can see, technology can often be a hit or miss. While we’re lured in by promises of innovative features and creative designs, don’t be fooled because not everything turns out to be what it should have been. But for every tech fail, there’s always a lesson to be learned and it helps us continue on our path to newer adaptions and innovations. After all, tomorrow’s groundbreaking success might just be a product of yesterday’s failure.