The Elephant in the Room: Alexa's Ambitions and Amazon's Reluctance The recent statement from Panos Panay, head of devices and services at Amazon, that building a new smartphone isn't "just not the goal" has sparked speculation about Amazon's true intentions.
On its surface, it appears to be a clear answer to rumors about an Alexa powered phone. However, this belies a complex web of motivations and priorities.
Amazon's previous foray into the smartphone market with the Fire Phone in 2014 was met with lukewarm reception at best. The company discontinued it after just a year, citing poor sales as the reason.