In fact, the tech giant has a graveyard of projects that it closed after operating them for years.
Let’s take a look at some of Google’s notable failures and what led to their demise.
1Google+
Launched in 2011, Google+ was Google’s attempt torival Facebookin the social networking space.
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
However, it failed to gain much traction.
The primary reason for its failure was its late entry into the market.
By 2011, Facebook had already established a massive user base.
Googles efforts to integrate Google+ with its other services only added to users' confusion and frustration.
While initially popular, features like Circles and Hangouts were not as user-friendly as alternatives such as Facebook Messenger.
After nearly a decade of operation, Google+ was shut down in 2019.
The crowded messaging app market made it hard for Allo to gain market share.
Although the product was highly innovative and ahead of its time, it was also very complicated to use.
The steep learning curve led to low adoption, and the platform was plagued with bugs and lag issues.
Additionally, the market was not ready for such an integrated tool.
In contrast, Facebook and other competitors provided users with more control over their connections and shared content.
They offered standalone products rather than forcibly integrating social networking into an existing platform.
The integration also made the user interface too complex compared to what its competitors were offering.
Many users viewed Google Buzz as an unwanted intrusion.
The privacy concerns eroded user trust and hampered adoption, leading to its closure in 2011.
Users could also take photos, record videos, and interact with apps through gestures and voice commands.
Despite lacking a direct competitor, Google Glass failed for several reasons.
The built-in camera raised privacy concerns, making users uncomfortable wearing it in public.
Furthermore, its high price of $1500 made it one of the most expensive wearables on the market.
Its practical applications were also limited, which led to minimal adoption.
Despite its potential, Google Health faced serious challenges.
These systems were deeply embedded in healthcare workflows, leading to a reluctance among providers to adopt Google Health.
Moreover, the platform proved too unwieldy for most users to navigate and understand.
Another hurdle was the general skepticism among users about trusting a tech company with their sensitive healthcare data.
Most users used to prefer traditional methods of managing health records over digital platforms.
Ultimately, these challenges contributed to Google’s decision to shut down Google Health in 2012.
However, it faced several challenges that impacted its adoption in the market.
This dependency limited its performance and graphical capabilities compared to dedicated VR devices.
Also, issues such as smartphone overheating further hindered its popularity among users.
Moreover, the design of the Daydream View headset made it uncomfortable for extended use.
Due to these factors, Google Daydream failed to achieve significant market penetration and was discontinued in 2019.
Details of all 295 apps, services, and hardware failures can be found on theKilled by Google website.
