What Is Vapourware?

Date First Published: 5th February 2024

Topic: Computer Systems

Subtopic: Computer Software

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 5/10

CONTENTS

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Hypertext
Difference Between Hypertext and Hypermedia
History

Learn about what vapourware is in this article.

Vapourware is a type of software or hardware that has been announced to the general public, but is not yet released and is unlikely to be released any time soon, if ever. Vapourware includes both software and hardware that has been eventually released and never released at all.

Software or hardware is considered vapourware when it experiences a delay of three months or more or is postponed a second time. Especially after a long delay, vapourware can harm the brand image and push customers away. Therefore, most businesses try to release their products on time.

Causes Of Vapourware

Vapourware can be caused by the following:

Late release - Unexpected delays can push back the release date. Sometimes, the development may take longer than planned and there may be uncertainty about how long it will take to develop the software or hardware. For example, fixing errors in software can take a long time and developers do not want to release software with errors because it can harm their reputation with customers.
Early announcement - Sometimes, software or hardware may not be released until several months or years after the official announced release date. Developers have been accused of intentionally promoting vapourware to discourage customers from switching to competing products and gain an advantage by announcing their product will be available first.

History

"Vapourware" was introduced by a Microsoft engineer in 1982 to describe the company's Xenix operating system and appeared in print at least as early as the May 1983 issue of Sinclair User magazine. It became popular among writers in the industry as a way to describe products they felt took too long to be released.

An example of a vaporware product is the white iPhone 4. It was announced in early June 2010, but was not released until 28th April 2011, over ten months after the official announced release date.