It ’s been 45 years since Apple became a company , and it has released a lot of groundbreaking intersection over that time . But it has n’t all been iPhones and iPads — Apple has also made more than its fair ploughshare of failed , clunky , and just plain frightful products . Narrowing down our list was surprisingly hard , so we focused on products that had a compounding ofbadandimpactful — nobody give care that the Pippin was dreadful . With that in psyche , here are our picks for the 10 worst Apple Cartesian product of all time ( in no particular order ) , and be certain tocheck out the best Apple products over at Macworld UK .
Apple USB Mouse (Hockey puck mouse)
Apple
formally called the Apple USB Mouse , this was the first Apple mouse to drop Apple Desktop Bus ( ADB ) in favour of USB . That ’s about all it had going for it . Apple ’s first USB black eye shipped with the originalBondi Blue iMac G3and was easily the worst part of that reckoner . The rotary shape was such a catastrophic disaster of design that it now sit around proudly near the top of any tilt of Apple failure you ’ll ever come across . It was uncomfortable to hold , rotated as you used it , and tap when you click the clit too hard . Oh , and the cord was right smart too brusk . It ’s not a good sign when the affair you are mean to use as the main substance of controlling a Cartesian product is for the most part unusable ( see : Siri Remote below).—Jason Cross
Siri Remote
Apple is often accuse of pursuing form over function , and when it makes gimmick like the Siri Remote you could see why . The average tv set remote control is big and obtuse and surly , but it does its chore well : it feel comfortable in the bridge player and helps you see buttons without await . Apple create a remote control that was slim and minimalist , with the solvent that you do n’t even recognise if you ’re holding it the correct way up . The trackpad is cool than the one-time counsel wheel but less exploiter - favorable . And the remote gets lose all the time , just to add contumely to harm . We ’ll be well-chosen to see it go ( hopefully)with the next Apple TV update.—David Price
eWorld/.Mac/MobileMe
IDG
Before there was the cyberspace , there were telephone dial - up online communities , with America Online being the most democratic . In 1994 , Apple tried to get in on the action witheWorld , which also replaced the outdated AppleLink online support service . But not only did it have to battle AOL , it was available only to Mac and Newton users , and it did n’t offer anything of note value that was n’t on AOL . Combine that with Apple barely invest any exertion into eWorld at all , and it was an well-heeled project to put on the company ’s chopping city block during its massive restructuring in 1996.—Roman Loyola
The terminal rebranding of Apple ’s pre - iCloud online service of process ( after iTools and .Mac ) , MobileMe at least had the veracious approximation . For $ 99 per year , Apple would sync all sort of stuff across your gadgets : picture , contacts , e - mail , bookmarks , and so on . It was shift as “ Exchange for the relaxation of us . ” If only it really worked ! The service was plagued with problems from the very beginning , including launching delays , sign - up failures , and multiple serious outages . Things were so bad that Apple gave outtwo free extensions . Steve Jobs even wrote a company - wide e-mail in which he said , “ The launch of MobileMe was not our finest hour . ” Ouch.—Jason Cross
iPod Hi-Fi
Roman Loyola / IDG
Apple marketed the iPod Hi - Fi bookshelf talker as a rotation in home sound for enthusiasts , but the substance fall on indifferent spike . It did n’t help that the iPod Hi - Fididn’t produce the sound qualitythat nit - picky audiophiles take and its design actually hampered stereophonic imaging . It was build to be portable but it was quite heavy at 17 British pound and it absolutely was n’t built to take the abuse that comes with being carried around . While we ’ll allow in it had a solid figure , the iPod Hi - Fi just could n’t compete with its more practical and better - sounding competitor and was discontinue just a yr after its release.—Roman Loyola
Butterfly keyboard
In 2015 , Apple made the upright laptop computer keyboard on the major planet . After the MacBook land in March , it also made the worst . The MacBook ’s butterfly keyboard was suppose to be a revolution in thinness that delivered “ a frizzy and responsive feel when typing . ” Instead , it was tatty , pasty , and prostrate to so many issues thatApple launch a help programthat handle every butterfly stroke keyboard model ever release . Thankfully Apple has since return to delightful scissor - switching Florida key , but we ’ll never forget the five long year we suffered with the butterfly keyboard.—Michael Simon
Apple Maps launch
Almost a decade ago , Apple seek to terminate its trust on Google Maps with its own chromosome mapping service and app . First ship in iOS 6 , Apple Maps was a cobbled - together mashup of various data sources that were all out of the ship’s company ’s direct mastery . The results were often pretty , but that ’s about all . It was fraught with information errors such as warping landscape , inaccurate recording label , and steering that were so bad they became the guinea pig of net meme . It took several years for Apple to clean up the mess , all while Google prevent adding features to its own mathematical function Robert William Service . Two years agoApple get seethe out all - new map data — forgather and control by Apple — and Apple Maps is finally set forth to get legitimately good . But those first few eld were dread and unforgettable.—Jason Cross
AirPods Max Smart Case
you’re able to argue aboutthe virtue of the AirPods Max themselves , which have proved dissentious ( I like them ) . But somewhat much everyone agrees that their case — hilariously stigmatise as the Smart Case — is a stellar example of Apple ’s bad design . It looks like nothing you ’ve find out in your aliveness : a eldritch hybrid blend of handbag and failed art task . Quality control is lacking , with cutout in slightly the unseasonable billet and magnet weak than they should be . And most importantly it leave no trade protection whatsoever to the most vulnerable part of the AirPods Max , their headband . Smart Case ? More like Dumb Case.—David Price
Mac Pro (2013)
Apple ’s silky , modern , and compact designs are part of its collective identity , but the 2013 Mac Pro is an example of the company judge way too severely . When Apple replaced the tower Power Mac / Mac Pro behemoth with a piston chamber a fraction of the sizing , it was a quality model of a society cogitate it can get away with say its customers what they need or else of listen to those customers . The 2013 Mac Pro was an technology feat , but Apple finally recognize that it did its client wrong and pop off back to a tower design for the Mac Pro in 2019.—Roman Loyola
iPod Socks
It was hard to get it on whether Apple was alone serious when it jump selling iPod Socks in December 2004 . The iPod Socks fit any iPod or gimmick of that particular size and form , cost $ 29 , and were betray in clique of six in a variety of bold colour . Apple was no doubt desire to get them into Santa ’s chemise , butthe iPod Socks were tacky — the diametric opposite of what we expect from Apple . Beyond harbour iPods from scratches and dust , there was little benefit to the iPod Socks . They would sure as shooting proffer no protection if you dropped your iPod . And yet , as implausible as it may seem , the iPod Socks keep on to be deal by Apple until 2012 when they were finally removed from shelves.—Karen Haslam
iPod shuffle (3rd gen)
The original iPod Shuffle basically got everything right . The third - gen model did not . It was gimcrack at just $ 59 and came in a variety of colors , but the good clobber ended there . Apple read the “ make ” part to philia and removed all buttons from the face of the gimmick . It moved all of the controls to the headphone cord , which meant you had to practice Apple ’s earbuds or buy a third - party pair with an Apple - sanction headphone adapter if you wanted button , or else rely on vocalism control , neither of which were ideal solution . Plus its implausibly small size made it very easy to lose despite its build - in clip . “ Easy to lose and hard to use ” is n’t intimately as compelling as “ 1,000 songs in your air hole . ”—Michael Simon
