Amazon is reportedly developing an AI-centric smartphone

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/03/amazon-is-reportedly-developing-an-ai-centric-smartphone/

Reuters said the phone is codenamed Transformer

AI integration is a “key focus” of Transformer, per Reuters’ sources, who said that Amazon wants the phone to drive usage of Amazon’s AI products

It’s unclear why Amazon thinks now is a good time to get back into phones. Even potentially low prices may not be enough to convince people to buy.

You ARE looking forward to this, right?

198 points · 47 comments · view on lemmy.world

47 Comments

Ghostie@lemmy.zip · 84 pts · 182d (2 replies)
[ removed ]
Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 181d (1 reply)

I developed my own plan immediately, and I think I can help you with yours. My final plan is to not buy it.

Ghostie@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 181d
[ removed ]
Martyy@lemmy.world · 46 pts · 182d (3 replies)
[ removed ]
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world · 45 pts · 182d

All of it.

sudo_shinespark@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 182d

Spend your time somewhere else. The answer is: yes

MissesAutumnRains@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 181d

What do you mean by 'steals' or 'personal'? People who buy this are willingly giving everything to Amazon by buying this.

jaredwhite@humansare.social · 33 pts · 182d

Amazon apparently has decided it has way too much capital on its hands, so it wants to pile it up a ton of cash out in the backyard, douse it with gasoline, and then smirk like a little imp as it strikes a match.

More power to 'em, I guess?

JoshuaFalken@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 181d (1 reply)

"Alexa call an ambulance!"

Ordered an amber lance, Prime delivery in eight hours

Meron35@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 181d

Chivera@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 182d (1 reply)

Didn't they fail at phones once already

Railcar8095@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 181d

Time to f-AI-l

brucethemoose@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 181d (1 reply)

low prices.

Oh. That's the angle.

Amazon will basically give these away, like Prime. And at least some people will lap them up because they can't help themselves.

With absolutely zero offense intented, I just saw another Lemmy user complain about ads on Prime Video, apparently unaware that they're now gated by an additional subscription. And any Lemmy user has to be in the top 1% of "enshittification awareness." That was always the plan, but our monkey brains often cannot help themselves when we see a short-term deal.

tired_n_bored@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 181d

If the great people at LineageOS or GrapheneOS or wherever else manage to create a ROM for this thing, maybe it could be a good deal

corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 181d

Even if this thing HAD a 3.5mm jack, I'd send this junk back.

sparky@lemmy.federate.cc · 11 pts · 181d (1 reply)

Thanks, I hate it.

Didn’t learn anything from the failed Fire Phone garbage?

vikingtons@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 181d

fyre phone

quick_snail@feddit.nl · 11 pts · 181d

Gross. I also saw some laptops labeld as AI powered.

Immediate pass.

I don't need my tech to be telling me 2+2=5

Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 10 pts · 182d

The only people that are asking for this bought the fire phone

auris@lemmus.org · 8 pts · 181d

No app store, have to rely on Alexa, who is definitely collecting and storing your personal data to do things by telling it everything, and a year ago they changed their terms so you can't opt out of your Alexa recordings being automatically sent to Amazon... every day billionaires are closer and closer to successfully turning our phones into telescreens.

And I bet the phone is gonna be full of ads and product placement too, if it happens. I know before I finally ditched my Alexa over a year ago it was trying to suggest shit for me to buy I didn't need.

"Alexa phone, call the doctor, I'm sick I need an ap—"

"You sure? This pack of cold medicine on Amazon has 5 star reviews, and is much cheaper than your doctor visit! Would you like me to add it to your cart for same-day delivery?"

Like. That's maybe a little more time down the line in dystopian hypotheticals, but the vague implications behind the AI doing everything so you don't have to gives up so much free will, and I'm just saying... it's a power grab disguised as efficiency. Ugh.

kamayatu24@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 181d (1 reply)

Oh yes! A smartphone for continuous surveillance of people. This world is ending. 

tired_n_bored@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 181d

I mean... we have that already sadly

baggachipz@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 181d (2 replies)

Remember the Fire Phone? It’s back, in slop form!

MIDItheKID@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 181d

I think the Alf Pogs are actually more desirable.

VitoRobles@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 181d

I was just going to bring up the Fire Phone!

Amazon has a history of hit and miss devices!

brucethemoose@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 181d

Also, these could be interesting as a "dirt cheap phone to root."

Amazon will subsidize the snot out of them. I'll take their money, thanks very much.

Teknikal@anarchist.nexus · 7 pts · 182d (5 replies)

Don't forget they gimped all their FireTV devices lately, you would have to be mad to buy an Amazon phone.

FearMeAndDecay@literature.cafe · 2 pts · 181d (4 replies)

Wait, what did they do? Did I miss more bullshit?

Turret3857@infosec.pub · 5 pts · 181d (3 replies)
timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 181d

Woof. Most of the reason to even get one of their devices was that it was cheap and you could sideload.

Guess theyre really trying to lose even more customers.

FearMeAndDecay@literature.cafe · 2 pts · 181d (1 reply)

Ah damn it. I got a fire tv a few years ago bc I could side load apps onto it unlike a Roku tv. Hopefully they don’t take down smart tube at least :/

Turret3857@infosec.pub · 2 pts · 181d

Yeah were kinda fucked ATP for "good" smart TV stuff. You could DIY it with an old PC or raspberry pi but unless we see a push for it from a major player (Like Graphene partnering with Motorola) itll probably be like this for the foreseeable future.

Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca · 7 pts · 182d

nothing but ewaste that we will end up paying for. can these companies honestly just... fuck off already. nothing but cancer.

curbstickle@anarchist.nexus · 6 pts · 181d (1 reply)

It has not yet been officially reported that I'm developing plans to purchase a Motorola device with Graphene on it. This project has been codenamed "Fuck Google".

A key focus of this effort is the synergy around a phone without corporate AI, without Google control, and readily available by preinstallation on the device. Research shows this "preinstalled" approach scores highly in the WAF scoring index.

QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 181d

Count me in.

01189998819991197253@infosec.pub · 5 pts · 181d

Because their last hype-based smartphone did so well.

HugeNerd@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 181d (1 reply)

...why?

Martyy@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 181d
[ removed ]
billwashere@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 181d

I’ll put this right next to my Facebook and Microsoft phones

ODuffer@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 181d

Fire Phone 2

bitwolf@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 181d

Wow, people will surely buy this. It most certainly won't end up a huge blunder for Amazon.

cows_are_underrated@feddit.org · 3 pts · 181d (1 reply)

Why should I want this? There are not that many use cases for it. All I do with my phone is play about 2 games when I'm bored, browse Lemmy, play music, some messaging and taking some pictures. Theres literally zero value of using AI to do anything of it

Martyy@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 181d
[ removed ]
GarboDog@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 181d

We’re looking forward to the launch of the new Amazon kindle ai phone! It’ll be the industry leading standard in how to read the customer base And completely fucking flop within 24 hours

resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 181d

Finally.

lemmy_get_my_coat@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 181d

Just what we've all been wanting!

ZDL@lazysoci.al · 2 pts · 181d (2 replies)

I'm looking forward to these phones!

They'll tank harder than Zunes did!

sheetzoos@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 181d (1 reply)

Zunes were actually pretty good. The worst part was what they named the file sharing system haha

ZDL@lazysoci.al · 1 pts · 180d

I have no opinion as to their quality, having never even seen one. But they were roughly as popular as the bubonic plague (fair or not).

BetaBlake@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 181d

No one's asked for this

pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 180d

Ahahaha.

They say everything we buy is a kind of signal to our peers.

This will be, as well.

cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 181d

Isnt this everything at the moment?

linux_penguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 181d
[ removed ]