More than a decade after its last attempt, Amazon is reportedly working on a new smartphone built around Alexa. The project, codenamed “Transformer,” is being led by Xbox co-founder J Allard.

He co-founded the original Xbox and played a key role in shaping it. He was also involved in the Xbox 360 and helped build Xbox Live and Zune. After joining Amazon in 2024, he is now leading the secretive “ZeroOne” group working on the “Transformer” project.

One of the biggest challenges for the Fire Phone was its app ecosystem. This could be a key difference in the upcoming Alexa phone, but removing the app store also risks limiting control and developer support.

As reported by The Verge, J Allard’s team has looked at both a full flagship phone and simpler designs, taking cues from devices like the $700 Light Phone.

The bigger change is in how the phone would work. Amazon may drop the app store entirely and let “agentic AI” handle things in the background. This may be convenient at first, but it also raises concerns around its accuracy, control, and most of all, user trust.

“A key focus of the Transformer project has been integrating artificial intelligence capabilities into the device,” according to Reuters.

Reports also suggest the phone would use personalization to handle everyday needs like shopping, streaming, music, and food orders through its services and partner platforms.

Amazon Bets on Ex-Microsoft Leaders After Fire Phone Failure

The 2014 Fire Phone was a failure, which ended up as a $170 million write-down. The AI focus feels like a strategy shift, but still does not address the ecosystem issue.

Amazon plans to step into a market dominated by Apple, Samsung, and Google. With them controlling the platforms, users, and the developer base.

With an unclear timeline, there’s a real chance the project could be scrapped if priorities change or if the costs increase.

Allard reports to Panos Panay, another former Microsoft executive who led the Surface line.

This may look like strong leadership on paper for the hardware, but it still leaves a gap. Without a real mobile ecosystem, the project could end up exactly where Fire Phone did.

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Written by

Nisarga Aseem Barkule

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav