It’s been 10 years since Google’s first hardware flop, the Nexus Q, a “small, Android-powered computer” that could play music or videos from the cloud. 

At the time, the black sphere seemed like it could do so much for something so little. But that was far from the case. So much so, that despite being marketed to consumers, Google pulled the plug on the project before it even made it to market. 

Have a look at the demonstration

Everybody enjoyed the design, with its sleek black orb and its glowing LED ring, like something out of Star Wars or Star Trek. Despite it looking great, early reviews of the product were middling, with critics primarily panning the price, which was set at $299, and the fact that it was an expensive piece of hardware that only worked with Googles other software platforms like Google Music or Youtube. Many reviewers were left baffled about who exactly the product was meant for, and even worse, almost nobody had an answer.

Despite being pitched as a music box where you could create playlists with friends at a party, so you could all listen to your favourite songs together, in order to do that, everyone would have to download the Nexus Q app and then fiddle with it. Users found out that unlike other Google products, the app was unwieldy and unintuitive. Of course, some time after this, Spotify figured it out, leading to the creation of the collaborative playlist.

Eventually, Google got the message. After reading about the negative reviews and the endless list of complaints, the device’s launch was delayed indefinitely, saying that they were planning on making it “even better.” Soon after, the product was slowly phased out, with the hardware disappearing completely from the Google website by the end of 2012. Early adopters were given the Nexus Q as a thank you from the company for their interest. By 2013, Google apps weren’t compatible with the device any more. 

While the Google Glasses got people involved in the wearable technology field and made some waves, paving the way for full scale production of virtual reality technology, the Nexus Q has faded into obscurity, and perhaps that is for the better.