This Product Doesn't Work—And That's Exactly Why It Sold

The modern tech product doesn’t have to work. It just has to launch. Ideally with a glossy teaser, a waitlist, and a sprinkling of AI magic. We’re living in the golden age of vaporware — where buzz beats functionality and “being first” beats “being ready.”

Let’s talk about two of the most obvious offenders: the Rabbit H1 and the flood of Twitter replacements that keep hitting the market half-baked and overly confident.

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Rabbit H1: A Glorified Cash Grab in a Neon Shell

The Rabbit H1 promised a revolution. It was going to move us beyond language-based AI tools and into action-based assistance. Book flights. Order food. Control Spotify. Manage your digital life with a little orange box.

Except it couldn’t.

What people actually got was an underpowered, overhyped Android shell running a glorified chatbot with virtually none of the promised integrations. No app control. No intelligent agents. No flight booking. Just a clunky device and a mountain of unmet expectations.

And the worst part? It sold over 130,000 units.

This wasn’t just a misfire—it looked and felt like a cash grab. The marketing was slick, the concept was trendy, and the launch was fast. Too fast. There was no transparency about performance, no clear explanation of what actually worked, and no attempt to set realistic expectations. That’s not innovation. That’s opportunism.

The Twitter Clones: Trying to Beat X Without Doing the Work

Since Elon took over Twitter (now X), there’s been a gold rush to replace it. Everyone wants to be the next digital town square without realizing what made the original work.

Meta gave us Threads — a Twitter alternative with no trending topics, no DMs, no search functionality worth using, and an onboarding experience locked to your Instagram identity. It surged in signups, then nose-dived in engagement.

Bluesky, backed by Jack Dorsey, had decentralized ideals but no real community. Mastodon had infrastructure but no intuitive UX. Post and Spill? Blink and you missed them.

Every one of these clones forgot the core truth: X still works. Not because it’s perfect. Not because it’s well-managed. But because it’s functional, fast, and culturally cemented. It still gives you reach. It still sparks real-time dialogue. The competitors? They’re all still trying to find the ‘post’ button.

Substack: The Last Hope (As Long As It Stays In Its Lane)

The only platform that seems to have a shot at breaking through? Substack.

Not because it mimics Twitter, but because it doesn’t try. Substack gives writers real tools, builds sustainable ecosystems, and focuses on substance over noise. It’s built for creators who want depth, not drama.

But even Substack is starting to drift. The addition of “reels” and social feeds raises eyebrows. If they chase the same attention economy dopamine loop that sunk everyone else, they’ll lose their edge.

Stay weird, Substack. Please.

The Real Problem: Hype is the Product Now

We’re in an era where tech is being built to look good in press releases and demo videos—not in real life. Startups don’t ship software; they ship vibes. Investors don’t fund functionality; they fund traction.

The result? We get tools that sound good but don’t work. Or platforms that launch fast but never grow up. And somehow, they still make money. They still trend. They still win—for a while.

Until we stop rewarding hype over honesty, until we stop clicking “Buy” on ideas that haven’t shipped yet, this cycle will just keep spinning.

And the next Rabbit is already being built.