Remember theSegway crazeof the early 2000s? Mall cops were zooming down walkways with them, and guided Segway tours became a hit in popular tourist destinations. But then, seemingly overnight, they disappeared. And now they’re nowhere to be found, as electric scooters have quickly become the preferred mode of transit for pedestrians who don’t feel like walking.There’s a new “next big thing” every year, but unfortunately, they don’t all live up to their own expectations. Redditors have recently been discussing “next big things” that massively flopped, so below, you can look back on products and companies that, in hindsight, probably received too much hype. Enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the things you had completely forgotten about!This post may includeaffiliate links.
Remember theSegway crazeof the early 2000s? Mall cops were zooming down walkways with them, and guided Segway tours became a hit in popular tourist destinations. But then, seemingly overnight, they disappeared. And now they’re nowhere to be found, as electric scooters have quickly become the preferred mode of transit for pedestrians who don’t feel like walking.
There’s a new “next big thing” every year, but unfortunately, they don’t all live up to their own expectations. Redditors have recently been discussing “next big things” that massively flopped, so below, you can look back on products and companies that, in hindsight, probably received too much hype. Enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the things you had completely forgotten about!
This post may includeaffiliate links.
Not entirely relevant, but I liked the trend where everybody wanted the smallest cell phone possible. For 20 years cell phones got smaller and smaller. Often being the main selling point of the phone.Then all of sudden you could watch videos on your phone, and almost overnight the trend reversed to “larger is better”.
3D television/movies
NFT’s
Those chips that were “fat free”, except they made you have violent diarrhea and a**l leakage because of the Olestra used in them.
Segways were supposed to be the car killer.
Internet of Things.I’m an engineer, and while I was in college people in my field have been banging that drum.Turns out we just need a good enough refrigerator, not an internet connected one.
Google glass
When the Windows Phone was unveiled, Microsoft held a genuine funeral procession for the iPhone.
Blockchain. I couldn’t stop hearing about it in grad school. I got pushed into studying data analytics and had to do a course on it. In the end I wrote my paper on the usefulness of it and basically said “it’s not without its uses, but there doesn’t seem to be a pressing need for it.” I read later a much better assessment of “a solution looking for a problem” and that basically nailed it.
I’m still very distraught we never got the modular phone revolution I was promised back in the early 2010s. Now it’s wildly exciting to have a replaceable battery. My heart weeps
Google+
Drone delivery of packages
The DCEU. I mean, they started a franchise finally showing Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman together on the big screen, and yet they somehow managed to botch it so spectacularly, so early on.
Amazon’s shopping buttons. They pushed really hard for those and I never saw the point.
The Metaverse.
Meghan and Harry
Motion controls in video games. They have not disappeared completely but they are nowhere as popular as they were back in the late 2000s.
Minidisc
Kinect was a full body motion control thing for the Xbox 360. It was supposed to change the gaming industry. It had maybe a dozen games made for it, most of which barely worked. And it silently went away after about 2 or 3 years.
How is that tesla cybertruck, it was announced years ago but not available yet, or is it?
New Coke, 20 or 30 years ago, I think. Belly flopped.
See Also on Bored Panda
Fyre festival
The future when you were young😂
Clear Pepsi. If I remember correctly they even used a Van Halen song for the commercials
Hopefully, A.I..
How has NOBODY posted about the Firephone???Whole teams of people were fired after that debacle.
Wii U was unfortunate. The Switch is just a very refined Wii U.
One of the funniest I remember was solar roads. Solar panels that you drive on. Without damaging them, somehow. With your operating room tires.
HD DVDStill remember half the movies being blue and the others red.
Zune
Gonna tentatively suggest this, Apple’s Vision Pro headset thing.A VR headset with a separate battery that you have to carry, creepy eye vision screen on the front, and all for only $3500+. How could it fail?Also, now that I think of it. Apple’s Ping social networking thing.
Fusion power is always 10 years away
Threads
KONY 2012
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