11 Failed Apple Products We Bet You Didn’t Know About!

Apple might be the largest tech company in the world with fantastic products like the iPhones, iPods, iPads, Macbooks and a legacy left behind by the great Steve Jobs. Given the company’s recent history, it almost sounds like everything that Apple touches turns gold!

You’ll be surprised to know that Apple has had its fair share of product failures. Right from its Macintosh computers to attempts at making Video game consoles, Apple has learnt things the hard way in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Here’s a look at all the failed Apple products, many of which were developed under the leadership of Jobs.

1) Apple Pippin (1995-1996)

 Yes, Apple actually tried its hands at building a gaming console to take on the powerhouses Sony Playstation, Nintendo and Sega (Xbox was yet to enter the scene). Retailing at $600, the Pippin was supposed to sell over 300,000 units in the first year. Apple burnt and crashed with estimates between 12,000 to 42,000 units.

2) Apple QuickTake (1994-1997)

 Apple QuickTake was one of the first digital cameras available. It costed around $750 and took photos at a fantastic 640×480 resolution (awesome at that time). It was jointly made by Kodak (Kodak’s self-branded digital camera had been in the market for over a year). With stiff competition from photography/ camera brands like Kodak, Fuji Film, Canon and Nikon, QuickTake didn’t last long. Wonder what would’ve happened if Apple had actually stuck on.

3) Apple III (1980-1981)

 

Apple II was the computer that built Apple. After the astounding success of Apple II, the company moved on to Apple III, which seemed like an obvious transition.
Except, this machine like its predecessors was not designed by Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak. Also design was given a lot more importance than logic.

A very buggy machine with major design flaws, the Apple III overheated very quickly. This product cost Apple very dearly to a point that Apple II having been in the market for long was still outselling Apple III comfortably.

4) Apple Lisa (1983-1985)

  Designed by Apple in the 80’s, the Lisa was introduced at almost $10,000 which as way too expensive for the product. Named after Steve Jobs daughter, this product flopped almost instantly.

5) Apple Newton (1993-1998)

Behold, Apple’s first attempt at creating the “iPad”. Okay, not an iPad but a tablet- PDA hybrid with handwriting recognition. Its size, poor battery life and hard to read screen ensured that the device flopped. Apple got back into the game with the iPad in 2010 and we all know how good it is.

 

Behold, Apple’s first attempt at creating the “iPad”. Okay, not an iPad but a tablet- PDA hybrid with handwriting recognition. Its size, poor battery life and hard to read screen ensured that the device flopped. Apple got back into the game with the iPad in 2010 and we all know how good it is.

6) Macintosh TV (1993)

 

Macintosh TV was an attempt to combine computers with television sets. It was essentially a computer with a TV screen attached, with no integration between the two. You could either watch the TV or use the computer. At a price of $2,000 it was a bit too expensive to succeed.

7) Macintosh Portable (1989-1991)

 A product that weighed 16 lbs. and was 4” thick should not be called Portable. Besides this, the device wouldn’t even turn on when plugged thanks to its battery design. This was Apple’s first attempt at portable computers and luckily they’ve come a very very long way since then. Yes, the Macbook series is amazing and has set a bench mark in portable laptops.

8) Apple ‘Hockey Puck’ Mouse (1998-2000)

  

This mouse which looked like a hocky puck was small in size and its awkward shape made it difficult to use. The puck failed to score any goals.

9) Apple eMate (1997-1998)

 The eMate, a hybrid between a laptop computer and a PDA wasn’t particularly a bad product. As it was sold only to educational institutions, its reach was severely restricted and was pulled out of the market within a year.

10) 20th Anniversary Macintosh (1996-1997)

 As the name suggests this product also known as TAM was introduced to celebrate the 20th Birthday of Apple. It wasn’t a bad machine as much as a very average one and it was priced at close to $ 8,000. On the bright side, it was one of the first products to be designed by Jony Ive who is now the Chief Design Officer at Apple and the man behind iPod, iPad, iPhone, Macbooks etc.

 11) The U2 iPod (2004)

 

The special edition U2 iPod was priced at $50 more than the regular/ identical white model of the iPod. Apparently the black color and signatures of the band was not enough to boost sales of this iPod. All that glitters ain’t no gold!