Here’s how Amazon can make its rumored new phone a suceess, erasing the memory of the Fire Phone

The Fire Phone’s main source of apps was the Amazon Appstore

By using the open source “forked” version of Android dubbed Fire OS rather than the Google Mobile Services (GMS) version, Amazon did not get access to the Play Store, Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Chrome, Google Translate, and Google Maps. Fire Phone users downloaded apps from Amazon’s own Appstore which did not include some of the more popular Android apps. 

In addition to not being able to install Google apps like those mentioned in the above paragraph, Fire Phone users could not install popular social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and several others. Some banking apps also were off limits to the Amazon Fire Phone. As Nokia and Microsoft would soon learn after Amazon, consumers will not purchase phones that don’t support their favorite apps. Amazon’s versions of Google apps included Amazon Video, Amazon Music, and the Silk Browser. These three were pre-installed on the Fire Phone.

Is Amazon setting itself up for another colossal fail? 

Amazon believed that its Silk Browser, Amazon Video and Amazon Music Apps could compete with Chrome, YouTube, and YouTube Music. As a result, the company made the deadly mistake of thinking that since those developing apps for the Amazon Appstore would reach both Kindle users and Fire Phone users, they would shell out the money to develop versions of popular Android apps for Fire OS. But the very small number of Fire Phone users led Android app developers to reject this plan. The Amazon Appstore closed to non-Amazon Android device users last year/.

We have to wonder whether Amazon is setting itself up for another colossal fail. Once again, Amazon is aligning the new device known internally as “Transformer” with its own businesses. The device is expected to help Amazon Prime customers shop using the Alexa digital assistant. Those who anonymously spoke to Reuters about what they know about the device said that the Transformer device would make it easier for users to buy from Amazon.com, view videos from Prime Video, listen to tunes via Prime Music, and order meals from Grubhub.

Amazon would give the device AI capabilities that might allow users to get by without visiting an app store. While Alexa would do some heavy lifting as far as this device is concerned, those in the know say that it will not be the main operating system of the phone. Besides getting more consumers to sign up for Amazon Video and Amazon Music, the phone will allow the company to collect more data about Amazon shoppers and sell it to manufacturers and retailers.

How Amazon can pull this off and make everyone forget about the Fire Phone

I’m not sure that the world is ready for a mobile device that has been created specifically for shopping, even at a discount. Besides, unless Amazon plans on giving device owners incredibly deep discounts, smartphone users can shop using their Android and iOS devices and do not need to purchase this new Amazon phone. That’s the bottom line. For Amazon to not repeat the mistake it made in 2014, it needs to give consumers a reason to own the new Amazon phone.

Perhaps Amazon will offer agentic AI capabilities allowing users to type a list of things they need on the device, leaving the phone’s AI to place the order with the appropriate Amazon unit. With this in mind, Amazon should offer two different models. A cheap mid-range variant priced at $300-$500, and a flagship version priced at $750-$999. The shopping experience would be the same on both models. I think something like this could sell.