Amazon working on new smartphone with Alexa at its core, report says

Looks similar Amazon’s getting backmost into the smartphone game. More than 11 years aft the e-commerce elephantine pulled the plug connected its failed archetypal effort, the Fire Phone, the institution is present processing a caller smartphone codenamed “Transformer,” Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources.

The instrumentality is being developed by the company’s Devices and Services division, and it would diagnostic personalized features that would marque it easier to usage Amazon’s suite of apps, including Amazon Shopping, Prime Video, and Prime Music, the study said.

The smartphone would besides enactment Alexa, the astute location adjunct that Amazon has been investing heavy in, adding AI chops and expanding enactment to enactment with astir of the company’s devices. AI features are said to beryllium a large absorption for the smartphone, which is being seen internally arsenic a mode to promote Amazon customers to usage its AI products, Reuters reported.

The smartphone is said to beryllium developed by a comparatively caller portion wrong the Devices part called ZeroOne, which is led by J Allard, a erstwhile Microsoft enforcement who helped make the Xbox.

The quality comes arsenic Amazon has been going all-in connected AI, investing $50 cardinal into OpenAI recently, and projecting $200 cardinal successful superior expenditures towards its AI, chips, and robotics efforts successful 2026.

The institution spent much than a twelvemonth revamping its Alexa adjunct with generative AI features, yet launching it this February arsenic Alexa+. The adjunct keeps its astute location chops, and tin present bash astir things that different AI chatbots tin — similar readying an itinerary for a trip, updating a shared calendar, uncovering and redeeming recipes to a library, making movie recommendations, helping with homework, exploring a topic, and more.

Amazon declined to comment.