Amazon May Launch An AI Smartphone Years After Its Fire Phone Failure

You can be forgiven for having forgotten all about Amazon's ill-fated Fire Phone. It released a long time ago and despite an initial flurry of sales, it wasn't all that long after launch that Amazon held a fire sale of its Fire Phone due to underwhelming demand, and vowed there would not be a sequel. Never say never, though, as Amazon is evidently planning to launch another in-house smartphone.

The modern-era smartphone that Amazon is working on is codenamed Transformer and, unsurprisingly, a big focus will be on integrating AI capabilities, according to what several people who are supposedly familiar with Amazon's plans told Reuters.

Those same sources claim Amazon's devices and services team is helping to develop the upcoming smartphone. As currently conceived, it will sync with Amazon's Alexa assistant and give users a personalized mobile experience that ties in with services like Prime Video and Prime Music. It will also make ordering from Amazon's website and various partners like Grubhub easier than it already is.

It's a curious plan that sounds like Amazon is banking on its existing services being a big draw, though we have to wonder if there will be some kind of twist to entice users away from a sea of existing handsets, including a robust lineup of Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy devices. After all, it's not particularly difficult to order items from Amazon or tap into Prime Video from practically any mobile devices.

We're also curious about the AI aspect. According to the anonymous sources, the AI integration could replace the need to download and register applications to access app stores. It's not entirely clear how that would work, though Amazon has not been afraid to try and reinvent the wheel.

For example, in 2015 Amazon opened its Dash button program to all Prime members, which let users reorder certain supplies such as toilet paper and garbage backs with the press of a physical button. It also tried expanding on its Dash program with a service that enabled internet-connected devices to replenish supplies on their own.

Amazon's so-called Transformer project represents a market segment that the retailer-slash-device maker has already tried and failed to break into. Has enough changed in a decade to warrant to giving it another go? We may soon find out, though the aforementioned sources said Amazon could end up abandoning the idea, either because of a shift in strategy or due to the cost of such a venture.