What happened to hoverboards? | Version History

In 2015, self-balancing scooters (which quickly became known as hoverboards) exploded in popularity, and then began literally exploding. Andrew Hawkins and Sean O’Kane join David Pierce to explore the multiple conflicting origin stories behind the hugely popular rideable, the many knockoffs, and why a device that doesn't actually hover ended up being called "hoverboard." #VersionHistory #Podcast #Technology

This is the first episode of our new show: Version History. Each week, a panel of hosts will tell the story of a gadget, app, website, widget, or any other thing that anyone ever shipped or sold or at least said they’d eventually ship or sell. New episodes every Sunday.

00:00 Intro
00:50 First impressions of hoverboards
04:11 The “last mile” craze
06:17 Beginning of the “Hovertrax”
12:43 Blueprint goes viral
15:13 Celebrity birth of Hoverboards
19:30 Hoverboards start exploding
24:06 The safety concerns
32:40 Where hoverboards are now
35:16 Riding “real” hoverboards
39:22 What’s a better name?
42:49 The SHANE
45:22 Q1. What was the best thing?
47:48 Q2. What was the worst thing?
49:42 Q3. Would it have been a bigger hit if Apple had made it?
51:04 Q4. What would you do differently?
53:49 Q5. Which aspect would you keep?
55:28 Q6. Is there another timeline where this was successful?
57:36 Q7. Could it make a comeback today?
59:08 Q8. Version History Hall of Fame

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Post from The Verge on October 05, 2025

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