Amazon's second smartphone could forego an app store.

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?

      • Ghostie@lemmy.zip
        4·
        9 days ago

        That’s a solid plan. I do have one suggestion, if you’ll indulge it. I found this out after doing some more research about the phone: I think both of our plans will be vastly improved if we don’t buy it.

  • Jared White ✌️ [HWC]@humansare.socialEnglish
    16·
    10 days ago

    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?

  • quick_snail@feddit.nl
    9·
    9 days ago

    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

  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
    8·
    10 days ago

    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. That was always the obvious plan, but our monkey brains often cannot help themselves when we see a short-term deal.

    • tired_n_bored@lemmy.world
      1·
      9 days ago

      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

  • Teknikal@anarchist.nexusEnglish
    6·
    10 days ago

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

  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
    6·
    10 days ago

    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.

  • auris@lemmus.orgEnglish
    5·
    10 days ago

    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.