Even the iPhone makers grab the toilet: Apple’s biggest design failures

Anyone who has ever bought an Apple product knows how design language works. Just unpacking is an experience. In order to be able to write style on the flag in Cuppertino, however, you had to learn from a few mistakes.

We present you 9 of Apple’s biggest design fails.

The butterfly keyboard

What: Digital Trends

For Apple, the rule of thumb was: the thinner and lighter, the better. Of course, this also applied to MacBooks. In order to make the notebooks even narrower, flatter keys were used – a mistake.

Instead of relying on the proven scissor switches, the designers at Apple tried to further minimize the key drop. Sure, if the keys protrude less, you can make the MacBook thinner, right? Right, but at what cost?

Even the smallest crumb blocked the button. Due to the almost non-existent drop when typing, it feels like hammering your fingers on a board. feel? Not with the butterfly keyboard. Of course, this also resulted in all sorts of mistakes – and lawsuits.

Magic Mouse 2

What: The Verge

At first glance, Apple’s Magic Mouse 2 looks incredibly chic and flamboyant: a seamless design, no buttons, and it’s as easy as tangible.

Plot Twist: Greetings from carpal tunnel syndrome.

Style definitely went over substance here, because as pretty as the mouse looks, the form factor caused quite a few wrist pains. Practical multi-touch gestures or not: Health comes first. But that wasn’t the Magic Mouse 2’s only problem.

On behalf of Steve Jobs, why put the Lightning charging port on the bottom of the mouse? So it’s not usable when it’s loading – and she looks like a dead rodent lying on her back like that. Somehow fitting.

iMac G3-Maus aka der Hockey Puck

Source: Wikipedia

The iMac G3 is considered one of the best Macs of all time and even people unfamiliar with Apple products know this Mac. However, the matching mouse is less memorable.

Palms are round, so a mouse must be round too. There is no other way to explain the appearance of the hockey puck. In fact, there were no health problems among users with the G3 mouse.

Instead, you kept missing the only button on the chassis with your finger because the damn thing was spinning. This was not only annoying, but also interrupted the work again and again.

Die Touch-Bar

Those: Inputs

Sounds wicked, but it turns out to be another gimmick on Apple’s part that didn’t go down well. The idea behind the touch-sensitive strip on the MacBook Pro 2016: Shortcuts to apps – and emojis.

The problem: There were hardly any applications that supported the touch bar. Years later it stayed that way and the touch strip was doomed to provide quick access to emojis. But that wasn’t the only construction site.

To make room for the flick, a few buttons fell victim to the ax, including the escape key. But here was the solution: With the elimination of the touch bar, Apple reintroduced the popular haptic buttons in 2021. lucky.

By the way, we let the two Mac Books from 2023 compete against each other. Here is the result:

First generation Apple Pencil

What: Digital Trends

Quite a few associations come to mind with this picture the iPad works the pen is the most harmless of them. Apple made some really clever gadgets in its time and the Apple Pencil is one of them – from the second generation.

Not only does it look very strange how the Apple Pencil is loaded in the Lightning port, it is very easy to destroy the socket or even the entire tablet. Go against it once and you’ll break your pins. Greater pressure may damage the housing immediately.

The Apple Pencil in and of itself is a fine peripheral, but charging was a single design fail.

Mac Pro 2013

Source: Wikipedia

What was the name of the droid from Star Wars? But it wasn’t black, was it? What looks like robots from Star Wars is actually the Mac Pro from 2013, lovingly too Garbage can called.

Admittedly, you can find a lot of cool and futuristic things in the design. In the 2013 Mac Pro, all of the components were arranged around a cylindrical cooling chamber. A marvel of technology and highly proprietary. The problem with proprietary designs: they are very difficult to upgrade.

After all, that was the nail in the coffin of the design. In 2017, Schiller admitted that the options for upgrading Mac Pro were quite limited. The device is a wonderful example of how design can inspire in the short term, but still drown in the long term.

AirPods Max Smart Case

What: Apple

My first thought about the smart case for the Apple headphones was looks like a bra. On closer inspection, it could also be a handbag – and as is well known, she must live according to Bruce Darnell. In reality, this is a, yes, really, no kidding, case to protect the headphones.

Only the over-ears look out.

This case is not suitable for protecting the AirPods Max. Beauty and style are now in the eye of the beholder, so you could at least call the Smart Case a fashion accessory.

The headphone handbag does have a speciality: Putting the AirPods Max in there is the only way to put them in low-power mode. Outside, this only happens after a few hours and the headphones draw energy for that long. Well played, Apple.

iPhone Smart Battery Case

What: Apple

Smart and Case are two words that Apple should probably avoid in the future. Actually, you don’t have to say much more about this gadget, right?

The battery hump became an instant meme the moment it was posted. While the competition tried to sell bulkier charging cases in general, Apple wanted to keep its narrow design … somehow.

The prophecies of doom that the iPhone had swallowed its battery even called Apple boss Tim Cook onto the scene – and if the boss has to make an announcement, then you’ve really screwed up.

Fortunately, Apple changed its mind and later swapped the Smart Battery Case for the MagSafe Battery Pack. Everyone has to decide for themselves what that looks like.

The Newton MessagePad

Quelle: Blake Patterson/Flickr

The iPad was a huge success for Apple. Unfortunately, his grandfather did not. The Newton MessagePad came out in 1993 – and it looks damn futuristic! The problem: The gadget was not mature and the world is not yet ready for such a device.

The Newton MessagePad’s handwriting recognition, probably its greatest feature, didn’t work properly – so badly that even the Simpsons made fun of it. The pad was a passion project of Apple’s then CEO John Sculleywhich is probably why it made its way into the light of the world.

In the late 1990s, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he dissolved the entire Newton division. However, the MessagePad was not lost, but would later rise like the phoenix from the ashes as Apple’s iPad.

Apple had to earn its spurs and has used the toilet again and again. Which of the nine devices did you maybe even use yourself? Do you reinforce our point of view or are there defenders of good design out there? Which of the devices deserves a new iteration? Let us know and talk about it in the comments!