Why product launches fail: Lessons from immersive tech, and beyond

Introduction

Have you ever seen a promising product fail spectacularly at launch? Whether it was the rise and fall of Google Glass or the mixed reactions to Apple’s Vision Pro, even groundbreaking technology often stumbles when it matters most: connecting with users and their environment.

Launching a product is more than innovation or engineering brilliance. If it is anything, it is about delivering a seamless experience that resonates with both individual users and society. This dynamic, ‘the societal handshake,’ as I call it, refers to the implicit agreement between technology and its users: technology must respect societal norms and individual autonomy while delivering tangible value beyond User Experience (UX).

One of the pioneering design experts who understood this well was Raymond Loewy (1893–1986). The Coca-Cola bottle is just one of his iconic designs that still exists today, embodying his MAYA principle: creating designs that are Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable, seamlessly aligning innovation with what society is ready to embrace.  
Loewy’s principle was not just about design but about delivering the future gradually. "The adult public's taste is not necessarily ready to accept the logical solutions to their requirements if the solution implies too vast a departure from what they have been conditioned into accepting as the norm," he said. This phenomenon, also known as the Six-Degree Rule, reminds us that pushing a market too far beyond its comfort zone often leads to rejection.

In the spirit of Immersive Tech Week 2024, this article explores why product launches fail, drawing lessons from Augmented Reality (AR)—an augmented layer added to your eyesight—and Virtual Reality (VR) design principles—based on a new, immersive, virtual environment. The insights go beyond UX; we will dig into the societal handshake between technology and its broader environment.

Misaligned expectations

One of the biggest pitfalls in product launches is the gap between promise and reality. Marketing campaigns often paint a utopian picture of what a product can achieve, but when the experience falls short, users feel betrayed.  
I’ve faced this challenge myself: when all the puzzle pieces for a groundbreaking solution seem to align, it’s tempting to push forward. Yet, when a product feels too novel, it risks alienating users. That’s where Loewy’s MAYA principle comes in: delivering innovation that is advanced but still acceptable, while supporting users every step of the way.

Apple Vision Pro entered the market with grand claims of redefining AR/VR experiences. Yet, early adopters encountered steep costs, a bulky design, and limited usability, breaking the trust built by its marketing.  
The industry often leans on phrases like “infinite possibilities” to ignite excitement. Yet, clunky controls and unintuitive interfaces have repeatedly left users disillusioned.

Lessons
- Market truthfully: Highlight what your product can actually do.  
- Set realistic expectations: Build trust and loyalty over time.  
- Avoid the trap of offering a "solution looking for a problem."

But let’s not judge too early yet. We can ask ourselves: Are we the intended user, or merely observing a complex ecosystem at play? Messaging around AR and VR applications is often mixed, blending ambiguous visions of frictionless interaction with impractical promises.  

My take on the roadmap for these technologies looks like this:  
- The experience economy is booming.  
- The gaming industry is now bigger than the film industry.  
- Both top-line and bottom-line developments are aligning for AR and VR.  

VR’s absence from Gartner’s Hype Cycle is a sign on the wall. It reflects its transition into maturity, especially in enterprise applications. However, its widespread adoption still faces challenges, particularly in general applications. The technology’s dependence on other advancements underscores the need for holistic development in these ecosystems.  

Pokémon Go showed that AR, when layered onto familiar environments, can succeed as an outdoor social activity—especially when designed as a shared experience and without a complex value chain.  

AR enriches our existing surroundings, making it more likely to achieve mass adoption before VR, which immerses users in entirely new environments. The adaptation process for AR may pave the way for VR, but this journey will still take years of learnings and iteration.

Poor user experience (UX)

Even the most innovative products can fail if the user experience is flawed. Poor design frustrates users, making them feel the problem lies with them rather than with the product.  
Distracting haptic feedback or a pop-up screen blocking your view mid-conversation are just a few examples of new interactions that demand thoughtful iteration.

Google Glass (AR) promised seamless integration into daily life but lacked clear utility and raised privacy concerns. The 2019 Glass Enterprise Edition 2 shifted focus to industrial applications, but even recent prototypes struggle to achieve intuitive interaction.  
VR interfaces often leave users feeling “stupid” due to unclear affordances and inconsistent feedback. Tasks as simple as opening a virtual door can become frustrating due to poor design communication.

Lessons
- Test rigorously: Align product design with real-world needs.  
- Use clear signifiers and feedback loops: Guide users intuitively.
- Avoid solving problems users don’t perceive as urgent. 

Production and scalability Issues

A well-designed product can still falter if production or scalability challenges arise. Issues with manufacturing and distribution often limit adoption.  
Apple’s Vision Pro faced delays due to component shortages and high production costs. With developers hesitant to invest in its ecosystem, adoption stalled further. Microsoft decided they can’t establish critical mass on their hardware and teamed up with Meta to focus on software development.  
Hardware costs and fragmented ecosystems remain significant barriers for AR and VR. Without robust developer support and user adoption, products are confined to niche applications.

Lessons
- Stress-test production pipelines: Avoid bottlenecks.  
- Build ecosystems, not just products: Sustainable value comes from engaging both developers and users (e.g., Apple’s App Store).  

Competitive and market missteps

Failing to understand the competitive landscape or mispositioning a product can lead to irrelevance. Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 and Apple Vision Pro both struggle to compete with Meta’s Quest 3S, which offers advanced functionality at an accessible price. Meta goes all-in on mass acceptance of its Metaverse. I expect Apple will replace the Vision Pro with the Vision Air after 2024 to adjust to Meta’s pricing strategy.  

Lessons
- Conduct market analyses: Identify gaps and opportunities.  
- Create a compelling value proposition: Differentiate your product.  

Regulatory and ethical challenges

Societal and regulatory concerns can derail even the most innovative products, particularly when they intersect with privacy and ethics.  
Google Glass’s always-on camera raised privacy concerns that overshadowed its achievements. Recently, two students from Harvard University demonstrated how easily a standard smart glasses device can be transformed into a tool for collecting personal data from passers-by.  

Meta’s Orion project emphasizes a cautious approach, learning from these pitfalls by staying in beta until its AI technology is robust enough to navigate societal norms. Meta emphasizes a cautious approach that prioritizes user trust and data security.

Lessons
- Address privacy concerns proactively: Build trust through transparency.  
- Collaborate with regulators: Align with societal expectations.  
- Frame technology as enhancing societal norms, not disrupting them.

The societal handshake

Technology doesn’t exist in isolation; it interacts with the social fabric of human behavior. The societal handshake is the implicit agreement that technology must respect societal norms and deliver value while maintaining trust. When this handshake fails—when a product feels intrusive or alienating—adoption rates plummet.  
Niantic understood this when developing Pokémon Go, which encouraged social interaction and exploration, seamlessly integrating technology into real-world experiences.

Conclusion

As Raymond Loewy’s MAYA principle reminds us, innovation must strike a delicate balance between progress and familiarity. Similarly, the Six-Degree Rule cautions against pushing markets too far, too fast.

For decision-makers, this means:  
- Designing experiences that align with societal norms.  
- Setting clear, achievable expectations. 
- Building ecosystems to sustain innovation.  

Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Apple are laying multi-year roadmaps to guide society toward gradual adaptation. The handshake between technology and society is critical. Done right, it fosters trust and adoption. Done poorly, it alienates users and brands alike.  

The future of AR and VR lies in learning from these lessons—not in dystopian fantasies, but in grounded innovations that respect the complexities of human behavior.  

Interested in how your innovative technology reaches maximum adaptation breakthrough? Let’s collaborate!