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If you’re like me and pay close attention to new product launches in the tech space, you may have noticed a worrying trend: many new products are launched half-baked. Let’s dive into the current trend of companies releasing half-baked products at launch, why they do so, and how to ensure you don’t buy such.
Why Are Tech Companies Increasingly Launching Unfinished Products?
Now that we have seen some examples of companies rushing to launch unfinished products, it only makes sense to ask why they do so. No company wants to botch their product launch, but why do they keep launching products ahead of time?
1. Overpromising
In an attempt to capture the attention of as many users as possible, tech companies announce products months (and even years) before release. While at it, they make the mistake of overpromising what the product will deliver to drive up anticipation.
That leads to high expectations from end users, which, if the few examples I’ve provided below are anything to go by, you may set yourself up for failure. For instance, if you watched Rabbit R1’s launch video, you saw many promises about what the product would do. At the minimum, you would’ve expected the R1 to help you do some mundane tasks like ordering food or a ride.
However, the device only supported a handful of apps (most of which didn’t work), and those that did, like Spotify, still had issues. The company had set high expectations and needed more time to deliver on those promises. But the urge to launch faster clearly won, which brings us to the second reason.
2. To Reduce Time-to-Market
The tech industry is one of the most competitive. The high competition and fast-paced nature means that companies must always be on their toes to launch products as fast as possible ahead of the competition to capture more market share.
Launching ahead of the competition might make a huge difference, especially for new market segments, where, if all goes well, it will differentiate the leader from the rest.
5 Examples of Unfinished Tech Products
Tech companies rushing to release products ahead of time has become rampant. If you keep up with new product releases, you’ve probably noticed companies launching products that either don’t deliver on their promises or are filled with bugs that make them nearly unusable.
All that typically comes on the back of many promises and marketing stunts that leave everyone with high expectations but ultimately disappointed after getting your hands on the final product.
1. Rabbit R1
One good example is Rabbit Inc.’s Rabbit R1. Promised to be a time savior, the R1 was touted as an AI pocket companion that can help perform actions on your behalf. All you had to do was talk to the device. The idea is brilliant, but the device didn’t fulfill the company’s promises, and many reviewers found it fairly useless.
2. Humane Ai Pin
The Humane Ai Pin is another product that promised a ton and delivered an ounce.The Verge’sHumane Ai pin review described it as “thoroughly unfinished and so totally broken in so many unacceptable ways.”
Similarly, the incredibly influential tech-focused YouTuber Marques Brownlee titled hisHumane Ai Pin review, “The Worst Product I’ve Ever Reviewed… For Now.”
The Humane Ai Pin and the Rabbit R1 launched unfinished because both companies were probably rushing against the clock, releasing the two ahead of their time.
3. Sonos Ace Headphones
Sonos’s Ace headphones marked the company’s foray into the premium headphone segment. According to multiple online reviews, the device nailed on the essentials but felt rushed with the software side, essentially leaving more to be desired.
For instance, one of its main unique selling points, TV Audio Swap handoff, was buggy at launch, and worse, it wasn’t even supported on Android at launch (and still isn’t as of writing).
Plus, the headphones can’t be grouped with other Sonos audio devices, something that any longtime Sonos user expects. Additionally, some features were promised to be “coming soon” at launch, which has become increasingly common in tech product releases.
4. Cyberpunk 2077
Unfortunately, this trend isn’t just a hardware thing. It’s also common with software, especially rampant in video games from AAA studios. Just look at CD Projekt Red’sCyberpunk 2077 release fiasco after nearly a decade of hype.
Despite its first announcement in 2012, followed by eight years of teasers, trailers, and celebrity stunts leaving fans with sky-high expectations, the actual game was a mess (to say the least). Filled with bugs and glitches, many players said the game was unplayable, resulting in many seeking refunds.
And Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t the only high-profile AAA game released unfinished at launch. Other recent games that launched unfinished include Halo Infinite, Diablo IV, Fallout 76, Assassin’s Creed Unity, and I could go on. It’s a trend, and it’s no surprise there’s a growing sentimentthat you shouldn’t buy games at launch.
5. Microsoft Windows 11
Microsoft’s Windows 11 also had a wide array of bugs after launch. This shows that even the largest tech companies aren’t immune to this trend. To put it into context, here are some of the prominentbugs in Windows 11 that Microsoft had to fix after launch. And the list of similar cases keeps growing.
How to Ensure You Don’t Buy an Unfinished Product
Launching a product unfinished at launch or failing to meet set expectations has become the norm. Still, the main downside is that companies mostly get away with this without repercussions. The best way to avoid being one of the company’s “beta” testers is to wait for reviews of the actual product before committing.
Don’t just rely on mainstream reviews; you should specifically wait to see what the first wave of users say about the product. Give it a few months first, and check out what early buyers have to say. Besides, don’t pre-order something ahead of time.
Also, when a product launches that you would like to get your hands on so badly, check the company’s official announcements to see if there’s something they are promising to add later or soon. Just be patient and wait to see if those promises materialize. Of course, holding out means you won’t always have the latest tech products, but the tradeoff is worth it. For video games, there are someearly signs that a game will disappoint.
Tech companies have normalized the habit of launching unfinished products, either lacking some features promised to come later or the included functionality failing to work as expected. This is because companies are either overpromising or trying to launch products faster to keep up with the fast-paced industry. But if you practice patience, you can avoid buying unfinished products.
