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Apple is known for its multibillion-dollar hits, but not everything Cupertino touches turns into gold. Here’s six Apple products that flopped in the marketplace, despite being pretty darn great.
Video written by Luke Dormehl.
Videos used:
Classic PC: Newton MessagePad 110 by Explaining Computers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89XnXe3FnCo
Apple Newton MessagePad 2000 by May Tran:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXy_wbsDO00
20th Anniversary Macintosh - TAM - Spartacus - by Allkeralker33:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUxPwKqzOZQ
Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh by BBISHOPPCM's World:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RscbnD448p4
Macintosh TV by hydraeus:
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0:00
Apple has known for its multi-billion dollar hits, but not everything Cupertino touches
0:07
turns into gold. Here's six Apple products have flopped in the marketplace, despite being pretty darn great
0:13
The Newton Message Pad. For many fans, no Apple products sums up the bad old days of the 1990s better than the
0:18
Apple Newton, the company's first attempt at a handheld device. Despite never living up to the company's expectations, however, the Newton was brilliant
0:25
and way ahead of its time. His personal data assistance came out with a touchscreen that could recognize users' handwriting
0:32
Newton's even employed artificial intelligence to recognize specific sentences. Writing a note about a meeting would automatically create a calendar entry for it
0:40
The first message pads suffered from shoddy handwriting recognition, but Apple fixed that
0:44
in later versions. If you ever want to check out the Newton at its best, look for 1997's MessagePad 2000
0:51
It offered the device's highest resolution screen, which was a whopping 480 by 320 pixels in beautiful
0:57
gray scale, it had a faster processor, longer battery life, and the ability to wirelessly exchange
1:02
information with other users. Heck, you could even use it to access your emails and the internet
1:06
via its en route iNet email clients and Nethopper web browser. The G4 Cube. Very few Apple products
1:14
looked as stunning as 2000 jaw Power Mac G4 Cube That didn stop it from bombing however In stark contrast to the ugly beige towers of rival PCs at the time the G4 cube was a 7x7 inch cube of clear
1:25
plastic that appeared to float in mid-air thanks to a transparent base. Operating in near silence
1:30
due to a clever air convection system, it was also surprisingly powerful. Apple even referred to it as
1:36
a supercomputer. Despite this, Apple only ever sold around 150,000 units total, just a third of what it
1:42
forecast. In Apple's words, the G4Cube was put on ice on July 3, 2001, less than a year
1:47
after it debuted. The 20th anniversary Macintosh. Confusingly, the TAM, as it's known by
1:53
fans, was actually released in 1997, making it 20 years after Apple's founding rather than 20 years
1:58
after the debut of the Macintosh. The $9,000 computer, which works out to around $13,600 today
2:05
was the first flat-screen Mac, with the design that predated today's IMAX by the best part
2:09
of a decade. Aiming to be a full multimedia computer, it boasted an integrated TV FM radio system
2:15
S-video input, and a custom sound system designed by Bose. In a crazily extravagant flourish
2:21
the 20th anniversary max were delivered to your home via a limo, before being set up by an Apple employee
2:26
in a tuxedo, which is the least I'd want when spending almost $14,000 on a computer
2:31
Despite all of this, it failed to sell. Apple only sold a few thousand units, and eventually
2:35
the company reduced the price to just before discontinuing the Tamp Today it a major collector item that can still fetch up to Macintosh TV
2:46
Unlike a lot of other items on this list, as far as I am aware, 1993's Macintosh TV
2:51
has never gone on to become a favourite among Apple fans. But in 1993, many people would have been amazed
2:57
and it cemented just how far ahead of the competition Apple was for multimedia
3:01
The Mac TV was a weird hybrid machine that melded a performer 520 Mac
3:04
and a 14-inch Sony CRT TV. The idea was to extend the Mac's capabilities
3:09
by allowing it to connect to a VCR, camcorder or video game console
3:13
to create an all-in-one entertainment package. As such, it prefigured Steve Jobs' later digital hub vision for Apple's computers
3:20
Unfortunately, it flopped in the marketplace. Apple produced only 10,000 units between October 1993 and February 1994
3:27
when the plug got pulled on the Mac TV. The E-Mate 300
3:31
Do you ever wish Apple would take a page out of the surface or Chromebooks Playbook
3:35
and consider combining MacOS with iOS to create a touchscreen laptop? Well, Apple tried it way back in March 1997
3:43
Kind of. The colourful E-Mate 300, which shipped before the equally candy-coloured IMAG3 and Ibook G3
3:49
was a clamshell portable device running the Newton PDA operating system. Priced at it was one of the cheapest computers Apple had ever produced and a stab at getting Apple products into the hands of kids who could use them for learning With that in mind Apple only marketed it to the education sector which didn seem particularly interested The E ultimately died in early 1998 But Steve Jobs
4:11
tapped into a lot of what made it so important. It's Johnny I've led industrial design
4:15
its focus on ease of use, and its lowest price point, to help turn Apple round again
4:20
The iPod Hi-Fi. Released in 2006, the iPod Hi-Fi was a boombox-style speaker
4:26
that rethought the home stereo for the iPod generation. Or, as Apple said at the time
4:30
it's really home stereo reinvented. Audiofiles Steve Jobs even told the audience at its launch event
4:36
that he ditched his crazly expensive audio setup for an iPod hi-fi
4:40
Its clean design and great sound quality eventually earned at a cult's following. But at the time, most viewed its $349 price as way too expensive for a fancy iPod dock
4:49
A recent post by Cult of Mac editor Leander Caney, however, shows how it continues to live on more than a decade later
4:54
It can even be used as part of a homebrew home pod substitute until Apple gets around to releasing its Siri smart speaker
5:02
Any other suggestions, Apple has released hundreds of products over the years
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So there are bound to be other Apple machines or devices you feel never got the respect they deserved
5:10
Are there any personal favourites that stand out for you? Let us know in the comments below and subscribe for more great videos like this one
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