Amazon's Novel Approach to a Newfangled AI Device: a Phone?
Greg Bensinger
The year is 2014. Amazon, realizing that the world has almost entirely shifted to smartphones for their computing needs, felt left out. They were early to the newfangled gadget race with the Kindle. And dipped their toes in the tablet waters with the Kindle Fire in 2011.1 But now, directed by Jeff Bezos himself, it was time for Amazon to go for it. The Fire Phone was a big swing. And miss. In part because no one would tell Bezos "no". But in part because Amazon was just far too late.
The year is 2026...
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.
Bezos may be gone,2 but history repeats...
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.
Come on, there is no way anyone needs that device. These needs were covered 12 years ago. They're more covered now – still by Apple and Google. BUT...
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.
Alexa would likely be a core feature but not necessarily the primary operating system of the phone, the people said.
I'm going to zag a bit here in thinking that this may not be totally insane. Silly 3D screen gimmicks may not have been enough to get people to switch phones but there is a world in which AI can. We're not quite in that world yet. But we're perhaps closing in on it. And this Amazon project sounds pretty early.
A month ago, I made the case that despite the endless consternation about Apple's place in the Age of AI, they may actually end up positioned well thanks to one thing: the iPhone. First and foremost, there's certainly a case to be made that the best device for AI is the one you use most often. And that's the iPhone. Second, all the newfangled devices in the works being built around AI – including by Apple – are undoubtedly going to rely upon the iPhone as their main hub for the foreseeable future. Why? That's where the connection is.
And again, it's the device you already have on you. Even OpenAI knows that you're unlikely to give that up, no matter how good any new AI device may be – even if it's one made by the guy who designed the iPhone! Sure, everyone learned from the lesson which Humane (a startup in which Sam Altman was the largest investor, mind you) learned the hard way. But they also learned from said Fire Phone.
But again, what if there is an opening here? While everyone else, including Meta, is conceding to Apple's position at the moment, what if it is a time to try to re-enter the phone business? With a device completely rebuilt for AI? I'm not saying it will work. In fact, there's a very good chance it won't – least of which because aside from the product itself, competing in the phone business is insanely hard for a number of other more logistical reasons. But it may be worth a shot? Especially if you're in the midst of spending, say, $200B this year on AI infrastructure? Why not throw a few billion at an AI phone project?
And Amazon has a potentially interesting guy to do it. Last May, I noted what seemed to be Amazon's attempt to jump into the new AI device race, with the 'ZeroOne' project. And that was being led by J Allard, a name which long ago dropped off the radar, but those of us around long enough will remember well from the original Xbox days and later the Zune at Microsoft. The ZunePhone never happened – nor did the ill-fated "Courier" project – but might Allard be able to get to take his swing under the guidance of his old Microsoft compatriot Panos Panay?
Again, it all sounds pretty early. To this point:
Three people who have worked on the Transformer project said the phone is still under development. The company has explored both a traditional smartphone and a so‑called “dumbphone” with more limited features that could help counter screen addiction. Amazon has not yet sought wireless carrier partners for the device, these people said.
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.
Certainly the positioning as a "second device" would be the safer path for Amazon to attempt here. But I'm not certain they shouldn't try to go for the big dogs. Especially given Apple's clear vulnerability in AI. To that end, and given Zuck's intense hatred of being beholden to Apple, I'm sort of shocked Meta hasn't been working on a new Facebook Phone!3
I would also just note that Amazon not only has their huge investment in Anthropic, but is pulling OpenAI a lot closer. What if OpenAI's new device didn't need to pair with the iPhone, but with an Amazon phone instead? And what if some combination of Claude, ChatGPT, and Alexa could power Amazon's device? A true Anyone-But-Google AI Alliance!
I will end by noting what I closed with just about a year ago:
Beyond the AI moment, all of this movement also seems tied to the fact that the iPhone – and smartphones in general – are starting to feel a bit long in the tooth. People are perhaps primed for that "what's next". Which is a billion times easier said than done, of course. But Allard has a good pedigree – even the Zune, which we all make fun of now, was a pretty good device and ahead of its time in ways. It just tried to fast-follow the iPod without a lot of Apple's built-in strengths in consumer. And it came in brown.
Could be worse. Could have been the Fire Phone. Let's not do that again, Amazon.
Or maybe let's?
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
M.G. Siegler
1 A story I broke way back when! ↩
2 Well, from day-to-day operations, but he's still chairman of the board, of course. Not to mention the largest shareholder... ↩
3 Yes, another failed attempt to compete back in the day. It would obviously need a new name now... MetaPhone? ↩