Amazon is Reportedly Working on Alexa-Focused Smartphone

Amazon may try again to break into the smartphone market after the high-profile failure of the Fire Phone back in 2014. Reuters reports today that Amazon is working on a new smartphone codenamed “Transformer” that will offer deep a Alexa integration and advanced personalization features.

Since Panos Panay took over Amazon’s devices and services division back in September 2023, we’ve seen the company try to change the “cheap” perception that most consumers associate with Amazon products. Panay also oversaw the launch of the Surface Duo and Duo 2 while he was Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer, and even though the two Android-powered dual-screen devices didn’t resonate with consumers, Panay is probably the right person to lead the development of a smartphone people might actually want to buy.

Amazon’s ill-fated Fire Phone was panned for its poor hardware quality, lackluster software, and gimmicky features like Dynamic Perspective, which used cameras and eye-tracking technology to simulate 3D effects. It didn’t help that the phone didn’t support the Google Play Store and was exclusive to AT&T in the US. Other features, like Firefly, which was designed to help users recognize items and buy them on Amazon, probably was a poor reflection of the company’s priorities.

According to Reuters citing four people familiar with the situation, the “Transformer” project is being led by Amazon’s “ZeroOne” devices unit tasked with creating “breakthrough” gadgets. The team is headed by J Allard, another Microsoft veteran who joined Amazon a year ago.

Amazon is said to be seeing the new phone as “as a potential mobile personalization device that can sync with home voice assistant Alexa and serve as a conduit to Amazon customers throughout the day.” The report says that Amazon is aiming to integrate AI features at the core of the device, which may help to make traditional app stores superfluous. “Alexa would likely be a core feature but not necessarily the primary operating system of the phone,” Reuters added.

The report also mentions that Amazon is exploring two types of devices: A traditional smartphone and a “dumbphone” that could be marketed as a secondary device for consumers already owning an iPhone or premium Android phone. The company is reportedly looking at the upcoming Light Phone for inspiration. For those unfamiliar, this is a $699 minimalistic device with no Internet browsing or email app, and it will start shipping later this fall.

Amazon’s Transformer project seems to be in its early stages of development, and Reuters understands that it could still be scrapped “if the strategy shifts or due to financial concerns.” Competing with juggernauts like Apple and Samsung isn’t going to be easy, even for a company like Amazon that operates on a global scale. This is probably why OpenAI’s first hardware device isn’t going to be a smartphone.