Samsung had no choice but to halt sales of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone entirely. Photo / AP
Samsung had no choice but to halt sales of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone entirely. Photo / AP
Innovation doesn't always go to plan, which is exactly what some of the biggest tech companies learnt this year.
We decided to take a look back at some of the biggest blunders the tech world gave us in 2016.
1. SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7
Forget 2016, Samsung'sGalaxy Note 7exploding battery saga will likely go down in the hall of fame as one of the worst product launches in history.
When the smartphone was first released, it was met with overwhelming praise for its design, water resistance, iris scanner and improved S Pen features.
All things pointed to the South Korean manufacturer creating the device of the year, but then disaster struck with reports of Samsung Galaxy Note 7s having issues with exploding batteries.
The tech giant was forced to recall the devices and issues replacements.
This didn't work as planned because the replacement devices were having the same issues.
Samsung had no choice but to halt sales of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone entirely.
Following the unprecedented worldwide product recall, Samsung announced the "direct cost" of the incident would reach $3.9 billion over the next two quarters.
The news came just days after Samsung announced the second recall of the smartphone saw the company's stock price fall more than $22 billion in one day.
2. APPLE'S IPHONE 7
While a move to wireless isn't the worst, Apple failed to deliver on its own solution. Photo / AP
Apple's September launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus generated hype, but a number of delays left customers upset.
It started with the diehard Aussie fans waiting outside Apple's flagship for three days. only to find out there would be no iPhone 7 Plus or jet black iPhone 7 units available.
Apple said it had already sold out of its limited stock, with the jet black model of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus became increasingly rare - people ordering the phone had to wait until November.
According to a research note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the global shortage was due to the new high-gloss finish being too challenging for the Apple's manufacturers.
"[The jet black iPhone 7] suffers from a low casing production yield rate of 60-70 per cent," the research note read, reported MacRumours.
And who can forget the removal of the headphone jack and the controversy that move caused.
While a move to wireless isn't the worst, Apple failed to deliver on its own solution.
The company had showcased its AirPod wireless earbuds, which took until this week to be launched in stores.
Remember when the Census and Australian Bureau of Statistics websites were shut down after a cyber attack.
People were quick to vent frustration online, although the bureau assured the two million Australians who completed the Census before the site was shut down that their data was safe.
It also said those who were unable to complete the Census because of the crash had no reason to worry.
"ABS would remind Australians that they have plenty of time to complete the Census, to well into September, and again note that fines will not be imposed for completing the Census after Census night," ABS statistician David Kalisch said at the time.
While it wasn't the first time census had been available online, many believed the government's heavy promotion resulted in too many people heading the website at once.
Angry Aussies took to social media to slam the organisation responsible for collecting and safely securing private data, with many noting the irony of being unable to log on to the secure form.
In the wake of the incident, the Australian Bureau of Statistics blamed foreign hackers and claimed it took the precaution of closing down the system to ensure the integrity of the data.
The ABS said the online Census form was subject to four distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks of varying nature and severity.
4. DONGLEGATE
Apple released its MacBook Pro line-up, with the products being the thinnest and fastest ever released by the tech giant.
The laptops were also designed with a customisable OLED touch bar at the top of the keyboard, with hopes to make touchscreen displays obsolete.
As part of its innovative approach, Apple removed all of its MacBook Pro legacy ports except for the 3.5mm headphone jack, which was worthy of its own story.
This meant there were no longer ports for USB 3, HDMI, SD Card or even Apple's MagSafe connector, with the tech company opting for four USB Type-C ports.
"We transformed GoPro into an end-to-end storytelling solution," he said.
The folding drone shipped in a backpack and featured a removable stabiliser, which fitted any GoPro model.
Impressively, the drone boasted a maximum speed of 54km/h and offered 20 minutes of flight time per charge.
Retailing for $1195.95 without a camera or $1649.95 with a new GoPro attached meant the device didn't come cheap, but it seemed worth the money at the time.
Well, at least it did until the product started losing its power midflight, which caused it to literally plummet from the sky.
Just two weeks into the market, GoPro recalled its Karma Drone and give out free Hero 5 cameras as compensation.
