The Biggest Technology Failures of 2016

Apple Watch

Apple’s latest ads for its smart watch have rap music, dancing, and running in the rain. What they don’t say is what Apple Watch actually does. The answer by now is plain: not nearly enough to make it as popular or profitable as smartphones. During 2016, sales of the Apple Watch were anemic, according to IDC. Competitors started giving up, too: Motorola put off further releases of its Moto360 watch “indefinitely” and category pioneer Pebble said in December it would stop “promoting, manufacturing, or selling” its watches, too. One reviewer at Engadget summed up his feelings about the Apple Watch: “I mean, I’d never wear one.”