Fire Phone 2.0? Amazon wants a second chance at failing to make a phone work

Once upon a time, Amazon ventured into the world of smartphones by launching the 2014 Fire Phone. The handset met its demise fairly quickly, only lasting a little over a year before getting discontinued. Although the Fire Phone was one of the company’s biggest high-profile flops, it appears Amazon is ready and willing to take another stab at it.

As reported by Reuters, sources familiar with the project say that Amazon is developing a new phone internally known as “Transformer.” This project is being carried out by a year-old group within Amazon’s devices unit called ZeroOne. Leading this group is J Allard, a former Microsoft executive who was previously involved with products such as the Zune and Xbox.

These sources claim that the handset is seen as a “potential mobile personalization device” that could sync with Alexa and “serve as a conduit to Amazon customers throughout the day.” In regard to personalization, it’s said that the device would be designed to make buying from Amazon, watching Prime Video, listening to Prime Music, and ordering food from partners, like Grubhub, easier than ever. Meanwhile, the sources say that Alexa would likely be a core feature, but not the primary operating system.

Although Alexa isn’t expected to be the main OS, AI integration does seem to be a key area of focus. It appears Amazon is interested in making a device like the Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1, so Transformer may not be a traditional smartphone. The report suggests that this would eliminate the need for traditional app stores, which would also eliminate the need to download and register for apps before using them.

There are a couple of other interesting details in this report, such as Amazon was apparently inspired by the Light Phone. If you’re unfamiliar with this device, it’s a $700 minimalist phone with not much to it other than a camera, a map, a calendar, and a few other bare-bones features. Another interesting tidbit is that the company has also reportedly explored making a dumbphone. The outlet suggests that a dumbphone or feature phone could serve as a secondary device, kind of like the Clicks Communicator.

Unfortunately, there is no information on how much Transformer will cost. It’s also unclear what the timeline for the project is and how much Amazon has invested in it. However, the sources say the project could be scrapped due ​to financial concerns or shifts in strategy.