Apple (AAPL) seems incapable of doing wrong. It’s a huge company delivering tech products to the masses (and with 10 million iPhone 6s sold in just three days, we do mean masses). But it is, in fact, fallible.
Today, the tech giant hammered that point home with two gaffes: Bendgate and updategate, as reported by Fortune. Bendgate centers on the new iPhone 6 Plus, which is so thin that it can be warped or broken if sat on. Updategate is revolves around the latest update to Apple iOS and the fact that it can cause phones to lose cellular service and disable their fingerprint unlocking system.
Of course, over the years, Apple has messed up a number of times, both small and large. Here are a few of those tech and retail-related errors:
1. Antennagate
In 2010, some customers who bought the newly released iPhone 4 complained about reception problems when they held the phone a certain way. Allegedly, their grip blocked the internal antennae and prevented them from making calls. Then-CEO Steve Jobs vehemently defended the iPhone, although he admitted that it could lose reception if gripped by the lower left corner. As a result, the company gave out free cases to owners to fix the problem. "This has been blown so out of proportion that it's incredible," Jobs said. "There is no Antennagate."
2. Apple Maps
Apple Maps, introduced in 2012, turned out to be a mess. The company cut ties with Google by building its own free mobile maps for iOS 6 users. But while it looked pretty, it wasn't entirely functional. Roads led no where. Driving directions were suspect. Complaints reached such a frenzy that CEO Tim Cook publicly apologized. "At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers," he said in a statement. "With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment." Even more astounding, Cook mentioned alternative mapping products to use, including Google, Nokia, Bing and MapQuest.
3. Button-less iPod Shuffle
It was an iPod Shuffle, but curiously without buttons. Steve Jobs was accused of waging war against buttons with the product's 2009 launch. Did Apple put design over function? That became a central question in media reports about the new product. In order to change music and make it work, users would use buttons on the earphone cord to change music and fast-forward.
4. MobileMe
Apple's first foray into cloud computing was a disaster. Launched in 2008, the service was supposed to synchronize email, calendars and address books. But instead, the service suffered from numerous glitches and outages. In fact, Jobs is said to have become enraged with the product after the launch, calling it "not up to Apple standards." He also allegedly fired the head of the MobileMe team in front of the rest of the division, according to The Guardian.
5. iPhone price cut
In 2007, the original iPhone got a price cut. That may not seem like a big deal, except it happened just months after the phone's release. The cut? $200. The abrupt drop let to angry customers and Jobs apologizing for the mistake. "Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these," he said at the time. As a result, early buyers received $100 in Apple Store credit.
6. "Hockey puck" mouse
Apple's mouses are typically oval. But in 1998, it introduced one that resembled a hockey puck. The product, which was the first USB-powered mouse released by Apple, was tough to use and ended up with the onscreen cursor moving in the wrong direction. After about two years, Jobs revised the design in favor of an oval-shaped mouse.
