Experiment in Experience That 'Skips Apps'
On March 20, 2026, numerous media reported that Amazon is pursuing a smartphone project with the codename Transformer. This project is handled by the ZeroOne team under Amazon's Devices and Services division, led by J. Allard who designed Xbox and Zune. Panos Panay, the overall device head, is also from Microsoft's Surface division.
This is not Amazon's first attempt at smartphones. The Fire Phone launched in 2014 was discontinued 14 months after launch, leaving a loss of approximately $170 million. For more than 10 years after that, Amazon effectively withdrew from the smartphone market.
The core of this project is not simply whether it's a 'comeback.' The more important question is whether Transformer is a device that can actually redefine the mobile experience with AI at the forefront, or whether it is an attempt to repeat the failure of 10 years ago in different language.
Fire Phone Launch and Quiet Exit
Fire Phone launched in July 2014. It was the first smartphone Amazon presented, with Jeff Bezos taking the stage himself for the announcement. Although there was the constraint of AT&T exclusive release, the product completion itself was not low. It featured differentiating functions not found in competing devices such as Dynamic Perspective (3D effect using 4 front cameras) and Firefly (connecting recognized real objects to Amazon products), and as Amazon had demonstrated with existing hardware, integration with the service ecosystem was also emphasized as a major strength.
However, the core question still remains. Why should users choose this device? As 'Humane AI Pin' and 'Rabbit R1' demonstrated, the concept of an AI interface alone does not answer that question. The difference between Amazon's approach and those two devices is that existing apps don't have to be abandoned, but whether that becomes a 'reason to choose' is still uncertain.
Ultimately Transformer is closer to a verification stage testing whether smartphones remain a valid form even in the AI era, rather than the appearance of a new smartphone.
Therefore, for Amazon to pass this test, a reason for users to be convinced must be created before the name AI. Precisely the point that Fire Phone ultimately failed to prove.
