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Amazon is developing a new smartphone with shopping at its core

MacDailyNews

Mar 20

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In 2014, Amazon launched its Fire Phone, a smartphone personally overseen by founder Jeff Bezos that aimed to challenge Apple and Samsung in the crowded market. The device proved to be one of the company’s most notable failures, discontinued after just over a year with massive losses.

Now, more than a decade later, Amazon is reportedly ramping up efforts on a new smartphone initiative, signaling a potential return to the hardware category it largely abandoned following the Fire Phone debacle. Details remain limited, but the move suggests the e-commerce giant sees fresh opportunities in differentiated mobile devices.

Greg Bensinger for Reuters:
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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, opens new tab 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.
Amazon’s effort to develop a new smartphone has not been previously reported. Reuters could not determine some details, such as the anticipated price of the phone, the revenue Amazon hopes to generate, or the financial commitment Amazon has made to the project.

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MacDailyNews Take: Unless they just give them away with free/very low priced plans, this seems like a nonstarter.

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