Biggest tech fails of 2022: Quibi, PS5 scalpers, Cyberpunk and more
Biggest tech fails of 2020: Quibi, PS5 scalpers, Cyberpunk and more than
Update: We accept a new listing of all the tech fails of 2021 .
You lot can exist forgiven if you idea everything that could go incorrect did go wrong in 2020. Equally it turned out, only most things went wrong. And that was especially true in the world of tech.
Corporate behemoths similar Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter continued to stride on every rake found in their path. Video streaming services that popped up to aid us through the pandemic acquired more headaches than they solved. And while the PS5 and Xbox Serial Ten both allegedly debuted in the fall, y'all may even so exist waiting for evidence that next-generation gaming consoles really exist.
- Tom's Guide tech of the twelvemonth: These were 2020's best gadgets
- Cast your vote in the Time to come Tech Awards
Sometimes you take to laugh to keep from crying, though, so with that in listen, gather around (at a condom altitude anyway) and relive some of 2020's greatest tech fails.
16. Amazon reshapes Ireland
With detailed Map applications on every computer, smartphone and car panel, you'd think that major companies would know basic geography, simply you lot'd be incorrect. Nosotros learned this firsthand back in November, when Amazon accidentally overwrote 100 years of European history and reunited Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. And, like many great moments in European history, information technology all started with a rugby match.
Northern Irish journalist Chris Jones asked Amazon'south Twitter business relationship why he couldn't view an England vs. Georgia rugby game streaming on Amazon Prime, which held exclusive United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland rights to the match. A well-meaning (just completely incorrect) rep responded that since Jones was in Northern Ireland, he couldn't view UK-sectional content. Irish Twitter set to piece of work correct away, making thousands of "Republic of ireland is reunited at concluding!" jokes — including "Gratuitous Delivery" instead of "Gratuitous Derry." — Marshall Honorof
15. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra autofocus issues
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra had all the makings of the all-time photographic camera phone ever. It packed a huge 108 megapixel sensor and a whopping 100x space zoom. There was simply 1 trouble. This $1,400 phablet had trouble focusing, especially when shooting video.
I tried shooting footage of my colleague and the S20 Ultra had serious trouble, with the focus jumping around every bit he moved. Samsung would ultimately release a software prepare for this issue, merely the real fix came with a defended autofocus sensor on the Samsung Milky way Annotation 20 Ultra. Lesson learned. — Marking Spoonauer
xiv. Facebook's antitrust problems
Facebook must have been feeling good about its 2020, at least compared to the annus horribilis it had to suffer in 2019. Why, sometimes, Facebook went entire months without having to apologize for i privacy misstep or another. And certain, Mark Zuckerberg occasionally got called earlier Congress for performative scolding or your Facebook feed might accept been overrun by COVID-19 disinformation, simply that must accept felt like firing on all cylinders for the social networking behemothic later the last few years.
Yes, it was shaping up to be a faceplant-free year for Facebook… right up until the moment that the company was sued by the Federal Trade Commission and 48 states, alleging antitrust violations. What a shame for Facebook — just two more states and information technology would have had the complete set.
At best, Facebook is looking at a few years of very expensive lawyer fees, as it defends itself against antitrust allegations. At worst, the visitor volition air current upward split into pieces, with Instagram and WhatsApp cast to the four winds. Either way, it's a reminder that Facebook's long-running troubles are far from over.—Philip Michaels
xiii. Windows 10's continued unreliability
Consider this a permanent slot for Microsoft in our annual fails round-up, now that the software giant has see the same issue in back-to-back years. It seems like not one month passes without a story of how the latest Windows x update is wreaking havoc on system stability.
One twenty-four hours an update is freezing systems and declining to install, the next, you lot're seeing display bug and organization crashes. Another update rolled drivers back by decades.
We don't know where Windows 10's quality assurance methods went wrong — maybe it's an over-reliance on Windows Insiders equally beta testers — but we would dear to non give this award once more in a yr's time. — Henry T. Casey
12. The GeForce was not with the states
PC gaming fans waited for more than two years for a new generation of Nvidia graphics cards. So when Nvidia revealed the GeForce RTX 3000-serial in September it looked similar we were going to come across a real step up from the already impressive RTX 2000-series. But when the GeForce RTX 3080 launched somewhat of a sudden and without whatsoever pre-order warnings, information technology ended upward selling out in mere moments. Then history repeated itself with GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 3090 selling out in no time whatsoever, even though the latter graphics card started at $1,499.
AMD didn't fare any better with its new RDNA 2-based Radeon RX 6800, RX 6800 XT and RX 69000 XT also selling out extremely chop-chop. That means we have two new generations of graphics cards that not many people can get their easily on. And restocks seem to be irksome to arrive, meaning the supercharged 4K gaming these GPUs hope hasn't really been realized yet. Combined with the lack of PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, and it looks like next-generation gaming has yet to properly make it; hopefully 2021 volition correct this mess. — Roland Moore-Colyer
11. The unbearable lightness of Twitter's Fleets
Online services seem to excel at introducing features nobody asked for, and this year, Twitter took the prize for Virtually Superfluous Addition when it took the wraps off Fleets. These "fleeting tweets" — yous see what Twitter did there? — were meant to be disappearing messages that flashed upwards to your followers then faded away after 24 hours.
That sounds a lot similar what you do over on Snapchat. And with Instagram stories. And with Facebook stories. And with probably endless other social media sites that offer their own cocky-destructing message feature. But Twitter's effort stood out because information technology… um… you see… look, it's named Fleets!
If your experience with Fleets is anything like mine has been, you saw a flurry of Fleets when the characteristic was first announced — mostly from people expressing their complete disdain for Fleets. Then, after a while, Fleets stopped appearing to the point where you lot're surprised when one actually shows up on your timeline. At this rate, nosotros'd be willing to bet messages aren't the only affair about to disappear from Twitter without a trace. — Philip Michaels
10. Trump targets (and misses) TikTok
President Trump acquired a panic among millions of TikTok users over the summer when he threatened to shut down the prevalent social media platform, citing national security concerns. He accused TikTok'due south Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, of offer the Chinese regime access to user data.
The president might have spent too much time preoccupied with TikTok's popularity — whether that has to do with teens on the app spoiling his Tulsa rally by reserving masses of seats no 1 showed upwards for, who knows. Simply on the bright side, his efforts led to a last-minute deal that positioned Oracle to host all U.S. user data on its cloud platform. Possibly that means in 2021 the authorities tin allow teens trip the light fantastic toe and lipsync in peace. — Kate Kozuch
nine. The 'Prime number' bike fail
On Sept. 21, Echelon proudly announced the introduction of the $499 Ex-Prime number Smart Connect Bike, also known as the Prime Bike. In the company press release, information technology stated that the Prime number Bike was "Amazon's first-e'er continued fettle production" and that the ii companies had collaborated on its development. The printing headlines followed, dubbing the Prime number cycle a potential Peloton killer.
There was simply one problem. Amazon didn't seem to exist up to speed on this relationship, releasing the following statement: "This bike is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime. Echelon does not have a formal partnership with Amazon. We are working with Echelon to clarify this in its communications, end the auction of the product, and change the product branding." The Prime Bike was discontinued, simply you can nevertheless buy pricier Echelon bikes from Amazon and a $497 Echelon Connect Sport from Walmart. — Mark Spoonauer
8. Celebrities hacked on Twitter
Hijacking Twitter accounts goes dorsum years, and even CEO Jack Dorsey famously had his account taken over in 2019. Only the mother of all Twitter hacks arrived the afternoon of June xv, when dozens of accounts belonging to famous people, including Neb Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Kanye Due west and Joe Biden, plus some well-known companies, suddenly started spouting nonsense related to a Bitcoin greenbacks-back scam.
Twitter locked down all "verified" accounts (those with a blueish checkmark) quickly, forbidding those accounts from tweeting en masse. The resulting investigation revealed that some members of a hacking forum that stole and sold desirable Twitter handles had tricked some Twitter employees into revealing their authoritative passwords. Three young men were arrested in the U.Southward. and U.G., including a xvi-year-old in Florida. And presumably, nobody ever got their promised Bitcoin greenbacks from a famous person. — Paul Wagenseil
vii. Motorola Razr falls apartment
No foldable phone got as much pre-release buzz as the Motorola Razr, and for proficient reason — Motorola was taking its iconic flip telephone from the dawn of the 21st century and giving information technology a foldable glass panel. Certain, the telephone was plush at $ane,500 — that'south 1.five iPhones! — merely you tin't put a toll on manner.
You can, nevertheless, put a price on poor design, and that quickly proved to be too steep for would-be Razr buyers. That six.2-inch plastic display featured some very visible creases and bumps — understandable, given the realities of a foldable brandish, but non the sort of thing you lot desire to see in a telephone Motorola marketed as a fashion statement. The telephone's hinge also produced an unsettling creaking dissonance, the processor felt underpowered and the paltry bombardment life forced early on adapters to go searching for a charger.
Motorola has since come out with the newer Motorola Razr 5G, which looks to accost many of those bug. Just you never get a second chance to make a outset impression, especially with a price tag that astronomical. — Philip Michaels
6. Courage: No charger with the iPhone 12
Apple tree argues that it's helping the environment by not including a charger with the iPhone 12 lineup. And that'southward true, as it could drastically cut downwards on the amount of electronic waste. But there's a huge grab to this motility.
Yes, lots of people have existing chargers that will work with the iPhone 12, but if yous want to fast accuse y'all'll need a 20W charger ($19) to pair with the included USB-C to Lightning cable. And if you want to try a wireless MagSafe charger, that will run you $39 plus the toll of the 20W charger. The rumor is that Apple won't include any ports or cables at all for ane model of the iPhone thirteen, just presumably the box will still include the phone. — Marker Spoonauer
5. Zoom "bombing"
At the end of 2019, Zoom was a irksome teleconferencing platform with 10 million daily users in offices and other workplaces. But as the coronavirus pandemic ford the world to lock downwards in March 2020, people who suddenly had to live their daily lives online found that Zoom was easier to set upwards, easier to utilize and cheaper than its rivals. Its daily usage soared to 300 million users, and its stock price rose eightfold.
That ease of installation and utilise had a dark side: Zoom's security was a joke. Its installation software mimicked malware (and made real malware easier to install), it exposed users to each other and its "stop-to-end" encryption was cipher of the sort. Only this month, one of its top executives was indicted for spying on Zoom users on behalf of the Chinese regime.
The nigh widespread Zoom security fail was the simplest. Anyone who had a Zoom meeting ID could join the meeting, and anyone could make noise or post pictures during the coming together. Cue an onslaught of obnoxious teenagers "Zoom bombing" online meetings with loud music, swastikas and oh so much porn.
Over the course of 2020, Zoom fixed many of its security issues. It made Zoom bombing harder by urging meeting hosts to force users to sign in, giving hosts greater ability to bar entry and, in November, letting hosts briefly suspension meetings to kicking out bad actors. The Zoom customer software is still creepily piece of cake to install, however. — Paul Wagenseil
4. Epic protests Fortnite out of Apple devices
When giant companies debate, the public e'er loses. And that'due south why Fortnite gamers saw a massive GAME OVER moment on Apple's devices.
Ballsy Games' gripe with Apple is familiar: Apple takes also much of a cutting of sales on its apps. And so, Epic broke the rules, finding a way to sell in-game currency through its own retail methods, knowing total-well what would happen next. Apple kicked Fortnite out of the iOS App Store, and Ballsy responded with a lawsuit — and an incredibly corny and niggling video mocking Apple for becoming the evil overlords it mocked in its iconic '1984' ad.
Arguments and lawsuits followed, and developers worried about how it would affect the Unreal Engine, Epic's tool used by many iOS game devs. In the concurrently, Ballsy has continued to troll Apple, in eye-rolling inducing moments.
Apple'due south not exactly innocent hither (as the Hey email app micro-controversy showed) and would later lower the cut it takes from smaller developers. Just when Epic Games earned $iv.2 billion in revenue in 2019, it'due south hard to cry tears for its bottom line on in-app purchases in Fortnite. — Henry T. Casey
3. Quibi? Qui-adieu!
Quibi, the abstraction of Dreamworks' Jeffrey Katzenberg and former HP CEO Meg Whitman, showed that you can't tech your way to success in Hollywood.
You lot'd think a new streaming video service that launched when we were forced to stay at dwelling would win, but Quibi'south short-format videos were mobile-simply. And the entire Quibi launch lineup did non include a single series that got annihilation close to rave reviews, or proved a striking either.
In October, the news bankrupt that Quibi was over. As our Quibi review showed, the app's trick for offering vertical and horizontal video was groovy, simply without any compelling content, the service never had a chance. — Henry T. Casey
2. Scalpers hijack the PS5 and Xbox Series X
The PS5 and Xbox Series X are both splendid consoles, and some of the near sought-after holiday presents of 2020. Information technology'southward a shame, and so, that unethical scalpers seem to control and so much of the supply.
Anyone who'due south taken an economics class (or lived through a console launch before) knows the drill: A hot, new production hits the market. Many people want that panel, and so information technology'southward hard to detect. Scalpers buy up whatever stock they can find, driving the price upwards and making it even harder to get the gadget through legitimate means. Buyers have essentially two choices: Pay an exorbitant fee to an untrustworthy person, or delay their exciting purchase by months.
Granted, trying to buy a PS5 or Xbox Series X has been a complete mess ever since the get-go pre-orders went live. Sony wasn't articulate on when the process would begin; Microsoft was, but none the retailers' websites worked properly. Long lines (both digital and physical) and product shortages were just part of the problem; retailers also delayed or outright canceled many orders. Scalpers and their sophisticated bots also scored a considerable number of consoles, and are now essentially holding them ransom. Panel launches always have a few hitches along the way, merely this was just one more catastrophe in a year already full of them. — Marshall Honorof
ane. Cyberpunk 2077 creates a real-world dystopia
Cyberpunk 2077 was 1 of 2020's nigh anticipated games, and who could blame gamers for being excited? The game came courtesy of CD Projekt Red, the beloved studio backside the striking Witcher series that'south known for crafting immersive worlds with engrossing narratives. But in hindsight, there were always some cracks in the façade. The game took eight years to develop — an unusually long fourth dimension in the gaming world. The game's transphobic marketing practices rubbed gamers the incorrect way, every bit did reports of unconscionable crunch in the studio.
Later on repeated delays, Cyberpunk 2077 finally limped over the finish line on Dec 10 — and information technology looks like the game definitely needed some more than time in development. If you take an extremely powerful PC, you lot might be able to coax some decent performance out of the game's repetitive open-world and short master quest. Just Cyberpunk is riddled with bugs and glitches on PS5 and Xbox Series Ten — and well-nigh unplayable on launch model PS4s and Xbox Ones. Sony went so far as to remove the game from the PSN store, which is very nearly unprecedented.
Cyberpunk 2077 may be a proficient game underneath all the performance bug, but nosotros'd look for a few patches. Nosotros'd also think twice near preordering games in the future, fifty-fifty from beloved studios. — Marshall Honorof
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/biggest-tech-fails-2020
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