Amazon hardware chief says new phone ‘isn’t the plan’

In March, Reuters he said that Amazon was developing a new smartphone. Citing four anonymous “people familiar with the matter,” the source said Amazon is looking to use Alexa as an operator and create a phone, called Transformer, to force people to use Amazon’s AI and other services. At the time, sources said the Transformer could be discontinued, and Amazon declined to comment on Ars Technica’s report.

In an interview published on Financial Times (FT) today, Panos Panay, Amazon’s head of devices and services, said that creating a new phone is not Amazon’s goal.

The company previously tried to sell the smartphone in 2014, but it stopped Fire Phone about a year later poor sales.

FT reporter Rafe Rosner-Uddin interviewed Panay, who was behind Microsoft Surface Duo phone failedeven Amazon wants to release a new phone focused on AI.

“This is what I can say: it’s not his intention. I know there are a lot of rumors,” Panay said.

Panay said Amazon is “not” trying to make a new phone.

He added:

There is no obvious way to make sense… there are many new things to consider. It is a difficult question. If I black and white said no, I would say it was right. But I also think it’s misleading.

The head of Amazon’s devices expressed the need to make “big bets when you want,” meaning that for now, Amazon does not need to release the phone.