Apple forgotten products tell a story that contradicts the company’s modern reputation for flawless design and market dominance. Between 1980 and the mid-2000s, Apple launched at least seven devices that disappeared from shelves and collective memory, victims of poor timing, questionable design choices, or simply being ahead of their time in all the wrong ways.
Key Takeaways
- Apple released seven major forgotten products spanning 1980 to 2006, from the Silentype printer to the iPod Hi-Fi speaker.
- The eMate 300 personal digital assistant retailed for $799 and lasted less than a year before Jobs discontinued it in 1997.
- The iPod Hi-Fi speaker cost $349 but lacked battery charging, AM/FM radio, and compatibility with newer iPods.
- Apple’s iPod+HP partnership in 2004 included a planned blue version that never reached consumers.
- The eMate 300’s translucent design directly influenced the iMac G3, which later revitalized Apple’s market position.
When Apple Made Printers and Portable CD Players
Apple’s missteps began early. The Apple Silentype, released in 1980, represented the company’s attempt to dominate the printer market—a category it would largely abandon for decades. That same ambition drove the Apple PowerCD in 1993, a device positioned as a supercharged alternative to the Sony Discman but significantly less successful. These weren’t niche products for enthusiasts; Apple was betting on categories that seemed essential at the time but turned out to be dead ends.
The PowerCD exemplified a recurring problem: Apple built products for markets that didn’t need Apple. A portable CD player with extra features couldn’t compete with a focused device that did one thing well. The company learned this lesson repeatedly, yet kept repeating it.
The eMate 300 and the Newton Gamble
In 1997, Apple released the eMate 300, a touchscreen personal digital assistant running Newton OS, priced at $799. Designed for the education market, it offered word processing, note taking, and sketching capabilities. The translucent shell design was genuinely innovative—so much so that it influenced the iMac G3, which would eventually help save Apple from near-bankruptcy.
Yet the eMate 300 lasted less than a year. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he executed what became known as the great Jobs purge, slashing product lines and killing projects that didn’t align with his vision. The eMate was collateral damage. The Newton platform had promise but lacked software support and faced skepticism from a market not yet ready for touchscreen devices. Apple’s Newton gamble failed, but its design DNA survived in products that succeeded.
The Bizarre iPod+HP and the Milk Crate Speaker
By 2004, Apple’s iPod was unstoppable. So the company decided to partner with Hewlett-Packard, co-branding an iPod+HP device. The arrangement seemed logical: HP would pre-install iTunes on all desktops and laptops in exchange for co-branded devices. Users could even download custom tattoos from HP’s website to personalize their iPods. A blue version was planned but never reached market.
The partnership fizzled quietly. What worked for one company’s ecosystem didn’t automatically work for another’s. The iPod+HP represented Apple’s rare attempt at hardware collaboration—an experiment that proved the company’s strength lay in controlling its entire product ecosystem, not sharing it.
Two years later, Apple released the iPod Hi-Fi speaker system in 2006, priced at $349. Designed specifically for iPod users, it was criticized for lacking battery charging, an AM/FM radio tuner, and compatibility with newer iPods and the iPod Shuffle. A TechRadar review was blunt: “no way that any sensible person would mistake this for even a budget hi-fi or mini system”. The device resembled a milk crate more than a premium speaker. It lasted approximately 18 months before discontinuation, leaving a gap in Apple’s speaker lineup that wouldn’t be filled until the HomePod launched in 2018.
Why These Products Failed and What They Reveal
Apple forgotten products share common threads. Many arrived in categories where Apple had no expertise or genuine competitive advantage. Others launched at prices that seemed unjustifiable for what they offered. The eMate 300 was genuinely ahead of its time—the market for touchscreen PDAs didn’t exist yet. The iPod Hi-Fi was genuinely behind the times—wireless speakers and streaming were coming, and a wired dock-based speaker felt antiquated almost immediately.
Yet these failures weren’t total wastes. The eMate 300’s design influenced one of Apple’s most important products. The Newton platform’s handwriting recognition and interface concepts lived on in later Apple software. Even the PowerCD and Silentype taught Apple lessons about market positioning and product focus that shaped future decisions.
The forgotten products also reveal something about Apple’s risk tolerance. The company was willing to experiment, to enter categories where it had no foothold, to try partnerships and form factors that seemed unlikely. Most failed. But that willingness to fail—to swing at pitches in unfamiliar territory—created the conditions for breakthrough successes. The iPhone didn’t emerge from a company playing it safe.
Is there a pattern to Apple’s forgotten products?
Yes. Most arrived in categories where Apple either had no expertise or where the market wasn’t ready. The eMate 300 was a brilliant design ahead of consumer demand for touchscreen devices. The iPod Hi-Fi launched just as streaming was beginning to make dock-based speakers obsolete. The PowerCD tried to out-feature a product that succeeded through simplicity.
Why did the blue iPod+HP never ship?
The research brief does not explain the decision to cancel the blue iPod+HP variant. Apple’s historical pattern suggests either low pre-orders, internal strategic shifts, or recognition that the co-branding experiment wasn’t resonating with consumers. The partnership itself quietly dissolved without fanfare.
What happened to the Newton platform after the eMate 300?
The eMate 300’s discontinuation in 1997 marked the beginning of the end for Newton OS. Jobs’ product purge eliminated the platform entirely as Apple refocused on computers and, later, the iPod. Newton’s handwriting recognition and interface innovations influenced later Apple software, but the platform itself became a footnote in tech history.
Apple forgotten products serve as a reminder that even the world’s most valuable company has shipped duds. What separates Apple from competitors isn’t a perfect track record—it’s the willingness to kill failed projects quickly and learn from them. The eMate 300 became the iMac G3. The Newton became the iPhone’s touchscreen interface. Failure, in Apple’s hands, became instruction.
This article was written with AI assistance and editorially reviewed.
Source: TechRadar
