The start of the year 2017 was promising, at least for the tech enthusiasts. And now that the year is coming to an end, we took out time to evaluate gadgets that flopped and disappointed many people who had their hopes high. Most of the tech companies also counted their losses.
Faraday Future FF91
The failure of the Faraday Future is not something anyone should be happy to discuss. But it reminds the other tech companies that “next time you plan on displaying a gadget, you better be ready.” The funny thing about this automobile is that after all the hype it did not perform as expected. The FF91 failed to demonstrate its self-parking feature with the chief investor of the company present on stage to watch the performance. What a disappointment! The poor performance of the FF91 was enough to see failure loom within their next line of automobiles. Eventually, the company abandoned its US$1 billion assembly plant it planned to establish in Las Vegas.
Galaxy Note 7
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was a phone everyone wished they had saved enough to acquire. Those who could afford it did not know they were buying an explosive device in disguise. In fact, the Galaxy Note 7 can be described as one of the most expensive gadget failures in the history of the company. The company had to recall all its smartphones shortly after launching the product.
The company recorded over USD$5 billion in losses as a result of the failed Galaxy Note 7. At the start of 2017, Samsung held a press conference revealing that battery failures were the cause of the problem. But that does not exclude the Galaxy Note 7 from being one of the worst gadgets in 2017.
Juicero
Juicero is a Wi-Fi connected juice press. The startup came with so much hope but lasted for just 16 months before shutting down. Juicero was one of the over-hyped tech gadgets in 2017 but turned out to be one of the worst following revelation made by Bloomberg. Consumers were made to realize that they could squeeze the juice pack by hand instead of using the pricey juice machine, Juicero. This made both the company and the product they offer useless to consumers.
Kodak Ektra Smartphone
Kodak Ektra slammed its name on a smartphone in May 2017. But the smartphone market was too competitive for a mediocre gadget like the Ektra smartphone to survive. Poor specs which include poor battery life and low faux-leather plastic construction made the Ektra one of the worst gadgets in 2017. It also had poor low-light performance and sometimes fails to work. The US$445 smartphone was a bad idea for the highly competitive smartphone market and one of the worst tech products of the year.
Pebble 2
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was not the only self-destructive gadget in 2017. The Pebble 2 smartwatch also began self-destruction at the end of 2016. Consumers were very disappointed with this development which marked the beginning of the end for the smartwatch pioneer, Pebble.
The Pebble 2 was the smartwatch that announced the company to the world. That, even when Pebble had financial challenges, it was able to raise $12 million to fund the project. Pebble was supposed to commence distribution in January 2017 but exited the industry in December 2016.
Griffin Connected Toaster
The Griffin Connected Toaster is not added to the list of worst gadgets because it fails to perform. This is a Bluetooth-enabled gadget that can prevent users from making a mess when toasting bread. It enables users to control activities performed by the toaster using an app. But at US$99, the gadget is just too pricey for a problem that does not even exist.
Conclusion
The year 2017 is a year tech companies, especially those that flopped will take out time to rethink before coming up with a new gadget. The year is coming to an end with just a few days left. And we hope 2018 will be more promising. We hope to see more gadgets succeed change lives in the New Year.
Scarlett Gibson is one of the professional writers for hire in the sphere of technology startups, gadgets and digital marketing. Contact her for additional information on mentioned topics.