13 Tragic Tech Fails that need to DIE

GoPro's cheapest action camera cut too many features, so it suits neither casual users nor enthusiasts, and he calls it dead on arrival.

Mentioned as GoPro's flagship, at roughly twice the price of the cheap Hero.

An interesting idea, but it was ruined when the startup shut down the cloud servers, with no refunds, and left kids without their companion.

Called probably the most mainstream handheld gaming computer ever, helped by lessons from the Steam Machines.

Valve's Linux-based Steam Machines failed because most Windows games would not run on them, though the failure paved the way for the Steam Deck.

A disastrous launch that dropped the promised campaign, added a battle pass and pricey cosmetics, and was heavily review-bombed.

Attractive hardware with a nice knob, but it was only a controller for the phone app, needed a subscription, was repeatedly discounted and then bricked.

Sonos's app overhaul removed core features and broke accessibility, costing the company money and its CEO his job. He rates it a six out of 10 fail.

Overheated and burned users, and Fitbit was slow to recall it, ending in a $12.25 million fine.

Bumble undermined its women-message-first appeal with a redesign and a poorly judged billboard campaign, and its share price dropped sharply.

Launched at the perfect moment but unfinished, so it failed to keep users and overtake Twitter, though it still has a sizeable audience. He gives it eight out of 10 as a fail.

The vertical farming startup's closed-loop water system spread a pathogen through its farms and it shut down in November 2024.

Once useful and used by him for years, but it was exposed for swapping creators' affiliate links and withholding better coupon codes, so he says he won't go near it again.