Famous consumer hardware flops, each fed to Kasspian with the name stripped — 4 of them, averaging 2.5/10. Below: the score, the verdict, and the assumption that killed each one.
A company raised $120 million to sell a juicer you didn't need.
Fatal flawThat customers will stay subscribed to the produce packs long enough — six to twelve months — for the business to recover the cost of the machine it gave them.
Rabbit sold a hundred thousand people a $199 AI box to run their apps, then most of them stopped using it within weeks.
Fatal flawThat a small standalone gadget can reliably drive the apps and services on your phone better than your phone can — and that enough people will carry and pay for a second device to do, less reliably, what the one already in their pocket does for free.
Amazon built a phone around a feature nobody asked for.
See what killed itHumane built a $699 device to replace the smartphone before it proved anyone wanted to put their phone down.
Fatal flawThat a meaningful number of people want a standalone, screenless AI device to replace the phone they already own and love — and will pay around $700 plus a subscription for a slower, less capable version of things their phone already does instantly.
Building in consumer hardware? Get the honest call on your idea — before it joins this list.
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