Amazon developing a new phone more than a decade after its first

Who remembers the Fire?

The latest effort, known internally as “Transformer,” is being developed within its devices and services unit, according to four people familiar with the matter. The phone is ‌seen 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 people said.

The initiative is the newest chapter in a years-long effort to bring ‌to market Bezos’ long-held vision of a ubiquitous voice-driven computing assistant akin to the voice-controlled computer in science fiction series “Star Trek.”

Bezos had envisioned a smartphone that had shopping at its core and could take on Apple by offering shipping convenience and discounts through the Prime membership. Along the way, Amazon could gain a wealth of ​new data about users only available through mobile phones combined with purchase history and content preferences.

As envisioned, the new phone’s personalization features would make buying from Amazon.com, watching Prime Video, listening to Prime Music or ordering food from partners like Grubhub easier than ever, the people said. They asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal matters.

A key focus of the Transformer project has been integrating artificial intelligence ‌capabilities into the device, the people said. That could eliminate the need for traditional app stores, ⁠which require downloading and registering for applications before they can be used.

The project is being led by a year-old group within Amazon’s devices unit called ZeroOne, whose mandate ​is to create “breakthrough” gadgets, the people said. ZeroOne is led by J Allard, a former Microsoft executive involved in such devices ​as the Zune music player and Xbox gaming console.

The head of Amazon’s devices and services unit, Panos Panay, has been working to reverse years of unprofitability in the division. That includes a forthcoming tablet that ‌will—for the first time—run Android instead of Fire OS and could sell for around $400, which Reuters was ​first to report.

One inspiration for the new phone has been the Light Phone, two of the people said, a $700 minimalist smartphone with a camera, map, calendar and not much else, such as an app store or web browser.

A dumbphone or feature phone could also ​help Amazon market it as a potential second handset to accompany iPhones and Samsung Galaxies already ‌in customers’ pockets, the people said. Such handsets, like the Light Phone and flip phones, accounted for 15% of global handset sales in 2025, according to Counterpoint Research.

Source: Yahoo Finance

NB: The problem with any new phone, whether it’s from Amazon or Google or Meta or OpenAI or Trump…

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