- Amazon is reportedly taking another shot at smartphones, this time with AI at the center
- Remember the Fire phone? That was Amazon’s first attempt at a smartphone and it was a colossal failure
- Reuters says the current project is still fluid, highlighting both Amazon’s ambition and the risk of another phone flop
Undeterred by the Fire phone flop more than a decade ago, Amazon is working on a new phone, according to a Reuters report.
The effort, codenamed “Transformer,” reportedly is being led by a year-old group, ZeroOne, within Amazon’s devices unit. The division is headed by J Allard, a former Microsoft executive who was involved in the creation of the Zune music player and Xbox gaming console.
To the surprise of no one, a key focus on the project is to integrate Alexa and AI capabilities into the device. It also might eliminate the need for traditional app stores.
Of course, buying from Amazon.com and watching Prime Video feature prominently in the development of the phone, according to Reuters’ sources. Alexa would most likely be a core feature but not necessarily the main operating system of the phone.
Reuters also said the project could be scrapped at any time if the strategy shifts or financial concerns arise.
Amazon declined to comment on the report. "We generally don't comment on rumor/speculation," a spokesperson told Fierce.
Amazon’s old Fire phone
Amazon has a history of trying to challenge Apple's iPhone with its own Fire phone, which was launched after the Kindle Fire but not nearly as successful.
The Fire phone was initially released in July 2014 as an AT&T exclusive – similar to the first iPhone – but was scrapped about a year later. The initial $600+ price tag might have been a factor in its failure, but it also came with some gimmicky – or icky, depending on your perspective – things like four cameras to track the user’s head movement.
The prospect of a new phone from Amazon comes amid much speculation about whether Elon Musk will develop a phone for Starlink Mobile. He’s said on X that SpaceX is not developing a phone, although he also said it’s “not out of the question at some point.”
For existing phones, it’s a rather bleak time. For 2026, Counterpoint Research is forecasting a 12.4% year-over-year decline, marking “the sharpest annual contraction ever,” due largely to memory shortages.
Who knows? Maybe a new AI-centric phone from Amazon is what the world needs right now.