24 Examples of the 'Next Big Thing' Being a Flop
Every day, we spend a fair amount of time looking to the future. And we all have one question: what's going to be the "next big thing?"
But for every innovation that strikes it big, there are a dozen failures. If you're ready for a trip down memory lane, here are the biggest flops that we once thought would be the next big thing!
1.
Amazon’s shopping buttons. They pushed really hard for those and I never saw the point. Reddit quote, u/GarrettSLB
3.
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”. Reddit quote, u/Buttsquish
4.
Second Life In the beginning, companies even bought real estate in there to allow people to visit them. Reddit quote, u/mclaeys
6.
Not sure if this one has totally flopped yet, but I noticed while in Costco the other day that there are no longer any curved TVs. If Costco is no longer carrying them then I think we can assume they're going the way of the dodo. Reddit quote, u/MrEngin33r
12.
HD DVD Still remember half the movies being blue and the others red. Reddit quote, deleted user
13.
The "Dark Universe" cinematic universe, starting with 2017's THE MUMMY. Reddit quote, u/JSanzi
14.
Quadraphonic entertainment systems in the early 1970s, were supposed to replace stereophonic systems. Now they are chiefly remembered for inspiring the name of The Who's second rock opera. Reddit quote, u/TheSanityInspector
15.
This one might be a bit obscure just because I've only ever met one other person familiar with it, but Google's Project Ara modular smartphone was looking like it could've been the end all be all of smartphones. Based off the Phonebloks idea of having a Lego-like hot-swappable module phone, the idea was that you could switch out any components of the phone on the fly. Camera, fingerprint scanner, even different quality screens. Conceptually, it really looked like it could take over the phone market, as it would lead to people not having to buy whole new phones anymore, but rather replacement or upgraded parts to a phone they already liked, thereby reducing costs and increasing utility. You don't want a phone with 5 cameras that inflate the cost unnecessarily? Just buy a one camera module. You want a 1440P Super Amoled screen to replace your 720P regular screen? Buy one and swap it in. However, like many Google projects, it died off for myriad reasons and the longstanding era of $1000 dollar smartphone slabs lived on. Reddit quote, u/ShartinMyKrelis
17.
Asbestos Technically it was a hit! Right until it flopped when people figured out the whole 'inhaling rock fibers is not healthy' thing... Reddit quote, u/Th3Cooperative
18.
Google Wave. It was supposed to replace email with a more collaborative approach. Essentially it was like a dynamically-created discussion board you'd share with select people and you could have a more readable discussion than one with a bunch of forwards and CCs and the like. I thought it was a good idea, but it flopped big time and Google got rid of it after a few years. Reddit quote, deleted user
22.
That streaming service that lasted like two months.Quibi. Even bad timing aside (a mobile-based streaming service at a time when no one could really leave their house) the marketing was just horrible. I saw ads for it for nearly a week before I realized it was a new video streaming service, and by that point was so annoyed by the ads untrusting everything I didn’t care at all, just out of spite. Also, I mean it was just YouTube you have to pay for and got worse content. Reddit quote, u/Disreiley
23.
Hoverboards? I remember in a span of 3 months everyone had them and showed them off and then they just disappeared. Reddit quote, u/tashasei
24.
Segways were supposed to revolutionize travel and replace the automobile. Now they're just used for guided tours for dorks in tourist traps. Reddit quote, deleted user
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