Top Smartphone Fails of All Time
The word smartphone came into use more than 20 years ago. Smartphones have become an essential part of our everyday life. Today they are something we swear by and almost can’t live without. While great innovations in the smartphone world are making our lives easier by the day, some experiments, just didn’t hit the mark. Many smartphones just left us extremely disappointed and let down when we got to know them better.
Here is a list of 11 greatest smartphone fails of all time.
- BlackBerry Storm
When touchscreen smartphones started to take off in the market, BlackBerry was one of the brands that were up in the game until they launched the BlackBerry Storm. Reviews described the 2008 BlackBerry Storm as ‘the worst smartphone ever’. The smartphone had a clickable touchscreen that some users found satisfying but many found rather confusing. The smartphone had a laggy screen, outdated software, and horrible battery performance and life. It was badly designed, poorly thought out and had a very short life on the shelves. It didn’t even have a Wi-Fi-support system. Around one million BlackBerry Storm phones sold in 2008 were returned.
2. HTC ThunderBolt
The phone was launched in 2011, HTC ThunderBolt was one of the first phones that enabled 4G with LTE support. It was one of the most hyped phones before its launch, but the hype soon turned into huge disappointment which left many customers angry. The phone’s launch was delayed and when it was finally released, the limited availability of LTE networks was one of the major setbacks that this device suffered. Apart from that, the abysmal battery life, extremely slow software updates, random restarts, and poor performance led the phone to become one of the most hated smartphones ever.
3. Amazon Fire Phone
In the year 2014, Amazon decided to enter the smartphone market while doing well with their tablets. For some odd reason, they ignored the budget approach that had served them well. The Amazon Fire Phone was a big disaster for the company. It had poor battery life and extremely dull design. It also lacked support for Google apps and had lethargic performance. To make up for all the defects, Amazon decided to add a 3D gimmicky effect without any actual purpose. After all the negative response it received for the phone, Amazon finally decided to accept a loss worth $170 million.
4. Nokia N9
Nokia N9 which was launched in the year 2011 never really had a chance, because of so many mishaps it had. Firstly, it was so expensive that it burned a hole in your pocket. Secondly, Nokia decided to use the already abandoned MeeGo OS system. Also, at the same time, Apple released its iPhone 4s which had better features and got more attention compared to Nokia N9.
The phone didn’t perform well in the market and was soon discontinued.
5. Samsung Galaxy Note 7
Things started well with the Samsung galaxy note 7. The special S Pen stylus and other features of the phone along with its design bought really good reviews for the phone. The smartphone was able to secure its stand in the market until a few devices started exploding or bursting into flames. The reason behind this was a faulty battery. Samsung even replaced the phones with secured ones, but as soon as the secured devices started exploding on flights, homes, or offices, it prompted a global recall and Samsung finally decided to discontinue the production and stop the manufacturing of the phone.
6. HTC Facebook Phone
The phone was launched in the year 2013 and was targeted towards youngsters. It was the first phone to introduce Facebook Home. It was a mid-range phone built for the masses who used social media at that time. The phone also introduced Facebook Chat Heads where one could see notifications on their lock screen but the phone did so poorly that it was called off within a month of its launch. AT&T dropped the price of HTC Facebook Phone from $99 to 99 cents. Even though it was a fresh-looking phone compared to the other stock android phone, most of its features were very similar to its competitors. Apart from being able to use Facebook, the phone was overall a bit underwhelming.
7. Vertu Luxury Phones
Vertu was a company founded by Nokia that designed supremely premium phones. The price range of their devices went all the way to $50,000! The purpose behind Vertu was to introduce very fashionable and stylish looking phones to separate themselves from other phones in the market. But, these phones didn’t last long, the main reason being that Vertu didn’t pay much attention to the important features of the phone. Also, they were competing against companies like Samsung that had mass-production and Vertu phones lagged behind them. Due to poor sales, Nokia finally shut it down.
8. Microsoft Kin One
The main idea behind Microsoft Kin One was a loop — a phone that collected all your social media feeds into one. The phone came into the market at the right time. Social media had just started becoming popular. However, the phone lacked many features. The feeds would update only once every 15 minutes and the biggest drawback of the phone was that it didn’t have an app store. The use of messaging applications was also restricted. For a company like Microsoft to have overlooked such important features in their phone is a pretty big fail, and they incurred fitting losses for it.
9. iPhone 6 Plus
It does come as a shock that a company like Apple would have a smartphone fail. The iPhone 6 Plus was just not as structurally sound as it should have been. There was a point where, if pressure were to be applied, the device would deform itself. This thing was made a big deal as it bothered people to no end. Like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, this defect also became fodder for viral YouTube videos and endless memes. The device also led to a fall in Apple’s share price and hence, became a failure for the company.
10. Red Hydrogen One
The phone comes from a company that specialises in building Hollywood cinematic cameras. For it to make smartphones was a pretty exciting idea. The phone had a holographic display and an ultra-high-end modular camera. The problem with their phones was, the company tried so hard to stand out, that it overlooked the essentials of building smartphones. Their phones lacked a lot of features including an OLED display and a pocket-friendly device. Apart from this, the device was delayed twice due to manufacturing defects, which eventually led to its failure.
11. Samsung Galaxy Fold
Nothing worked out for the Samsung Galaxy Fold, it started breaking down before it even entered the market. IFIXIT, a private company that sells repair parts and publishes online repair guides for consumer electronics and gadgets, found several problems with the smartphone, starting from the gap in between the screen and the rest of the phone. This gap left room for dirt to enter which wasn’t a good sign. Apart from that, the display structure of the phone started peeling off after certain folds. All these vulnerabilities in the phone led it to become another failure for Samsung.
We have seen a drastic change in how smartphones were before and how they are now. With advancing technologies and huge competition in the market, every company works hard to put its best foot forward. Some succeed and some fail miserably. The silver lining is, we get to fondly look back, and enjoy this opportunity to roast them!
