In its 33-year history, Apple has been at the forefront of technological design and innovation. From the Apple I to the iPhone, through the Apple Macintosh, the iMac, the iPod, the Nano and iTunes, the company has won over customers by bringing something new and exciting to the market.
However, among the winners, Apple has produced its fair share of losers: products that were either ahead of their time, not able to do what they promised, or just unloved by the tech-buying public.
Here’s a countdown of a top ten of these products:
10. Apple III
Lifespan: 4 years (1980-1984)
Introductory price: up to $7,800
The Apple III was built as a rival to IBM’s business model, but 14,000 had to be recalled early because of a problem with overheating. Despite a re-design and lowering the price, the Apple III was discontinued after four years.
9. PowerPC chip
Lifespan: 1992-2006
Introductory price: n/a
When the chip was created – as part of a strategic alliance between IBM, Apple and Motorola – it was considered a formidable competitor to Intel’s family of microprocessors. But the three companies failed to make use of any advantage and Intel retained its dominance.
8. QuickTake
Lifespan: 3 years (1994-1997)
Introductory price: $749
The Apple QuickTake 100 could not preview pictures or indeed delete them, which made it no more advanced and much more expensive than taking a picture with traditional film and scanning the result.
7. Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh
Lifespan: 1 year (1997-1998)
Introductory price: $7,499
While Apple CEO Steve Jobs claimed that the Macintosh “changed the whole computer industry”, the 20th anniversary edition was less well received. The price proved restrictive for this edition of the Performa series. Apple were forced to drop the price as low as $1,995, which was around the cost of production, before discontinuing the range.
6. Macintosh TV
Lifespan: 5 months (October 1993 – February 1994)
Introductory price: $2,097
Described as either a poor PC, or an expensive TV, the Macintosh TV never managed to convince consumers that it was a worthwhile investment, primarily because you could not use the TV in a window.
5. Macintosh Portable
Lifespan: 2 years (1989-1991)
Introductory price: $6,500
The Macintosh Portable boasted improved battery life and better graphics than its rivals in the budding portable market, but was bulky and pricey.
4. Power Mac G4 Cube
Lifespan: 1 year (2000-2001)
Introductory price: from $1,800
The striking G4 Cube struggled to get over the fact that it was about $200 more expensive than very similar Apple models, but came without a monitor. Despite a repackaging and a lower price, Apple stopped production a year later.
3. Pippin
Lifespan: 2 years (1995-1997)
Introductory price: $599
Apple created the Pippin as a low-cost PC with an integrated video games console, but it was primarly seen as a games console – and was considered too expensive in a market dominated by Nintento, Sony and Sega.
2. Apple Lisa
Lifespan: 3 years (1983-1986)
Introductory price: up to $9,998
Apple’s Local Integrated Software Architecture (or Lisa) was built for business use, but an exorbitant price tag meant it failed to make any impression on the sales of much less expensive rivals.
1. The Newton PDA
Lifespan: 6 years (1992-1998)
Introductory price: $449
The first personal digital assistant (PDA) failed to live up to its reputation primarily because the biggest pull – the system’s handwriting recognition software was unreliable and was famously satirised in Doonesbury.
Additional blogging by Sean Smith
