In the world of spectacular product failures, Amazon‘s Fire Phone stands out. Announced in June 2014 to great fanfare, within just over a year it was completely discontinued and considered one of tech‘s biggest flops.
So how did Amazon go so wrong? When Fire Phone launched, it seemed poised for success, with the company‘s Kindle Fire tablet flying high. In this deep dive, we‘ll explore the phone‘s full history, reception, specs, and flaws to understand the true reasons this ambitious smartphone crashed and burned so dramatically.
Overview
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We‘ll analyze:
- The Fire Phone‘s announcement and hype thanks to Kindle Fire
- Early warning signs like poor reviews and low sales
- Direct comparisons of its specs versus competitors
- The complete lifecycle from secretive development to abrupt demise
- Amazon‘s strategic missteps and overconfidence
- How Apple took the opposite, more successful approach with iPhone
Let‘s get started unraveling this tech tale of triumph and tragedy…
The Fire Phone Promise: Leveraging Kindle Fire Popularity
Amazon was on top of the tablet world in 2014 thanks to the raging success of Kindle Fire. Launching in 2011, Kindle Fire sold over 5 million units within its first month according to analyst estimates – crushing the competition.
By 2013, IDC estimated Amazon tablets accounted for over 33% of US shipments – second only to Apple‘s coveted iPads. With Kindle Fire securing their dominance, an Amazon smartphone seemed like a logical (and lucrative) next step.
The Kindle Fire wasn‘t just popular – it was affordable with reasonable specs. This rare combination let Amazon stand out against premium-only offerings like the iPad. Could Amazon work the same magic against Apple and Samsung smartphones? That was the multi-billion dollar question.
Hype began building as rumors circulated of Amazon planning a 3D enabled phone. And when Fire Phone officially launched in June 2014, excitement was sky-high thanks to Kindle Fire‘s wild popularity.
But under the hype lurked fundamental flaws that would soon doom Fire Phone to irrelevance. The early warning sides were there…
Early Warning Signs: Limited Availability and Abysmal Reviews
Fire Phone released exclusively on AT&T in the US, severely limiting its addressable market compared to ubiquitous devices like the iPhone. What‘s more, AT&T stores quickly reported extremely low demand from consumers.
And critic reviews painted an ugly picture from the very start:
"Doesn’t live up to expectations…too expensive for what it offers."*
"Feels dated, even with snazzy new features."
"Incredibly awkward to hold and use…deceptively heavy too."
By August 2014, Amazon‘s flagship phone had topped their best sellers list for just a few short weeks before dropping rapidly. One month after launch, the Fire Phone was essentially flopping in every way. So what exactly were consumers getting for that $649 price tag?
Fire Phone Specs: Impressive on Paper, Lackluster in Practice
In terms of raw specs, the Fire Phone sounded reasonably competitive:
- Quad Core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor
- 2GB RAM
- 4.7 inch 1280 x 720p LCD display
- 13MP rear camera
- Unlimited cloud photo storage
But benchmarks told a different story – the Fire Phone tested slower than year-old phones on many metrics. And the highly-touted Dynamic Perspective feature was considered gimmicky rather than practical:
“More of a tech demo than feature…interest wears off in about 20 minutes.”
What ultimately mattered wasn‘t synthetic benchmarks but real-world experience. And with an average OS, lack of apps, and no ecosystem, Fire Phone failed to provide a complete package competitive with iPhones and Galaxies.
But surely Amazon would attempt fixing flaws quickly post-launch, right? Not so much…because behind the scenes, troubling issues plagued the project from the very start.
Fire Phone Development: Bezos‘ Folly
You might assume Amazon keenly focused on competing against Apple/Samsung in developing their smartphone. But according to insiders, CEO Jeff Bezos prioritized gimmicks over nailing the basics – a fatal mistake.
Amazon started work on Fire Phone in 2010. Bezos took a highly hands-on role, consistently pushing impractical or impossible features. For example, engineers reportedly spent significant resources trying to make Fire Phone respond to different grips. Other Bezos brainchilds were squeeze gestures and hands-free navigation.
They did successfully create Dynamic Perspective. But these flashy bells and whistles created tension with engineers tasked with creating a competitive phone experience. Resources were spread thin trying to indulge Bezos rather than focusing on performance and practicality.
In the end, consumers didn‘t care about gimmicks – they picked iPhones and Galaxies because they were fast, polished, and had apps. But by the time Fire Phone launched, painted into a strategic corner, it was too late to correct course.
And soon calamity struck Amazon’s smartphone ambitions…
From Launch to Failure: Phone Burns Out in Record Time
Fire Phone‘s lifespan was historically brief from start to finish:
June 2014 – Fire Phone announced after years of secret development
July 2014 – Available for purchase exclusively on AT&T in the US. Also sold directly via Amazon.com where Prime members received a year of Prime free with purchase.
August 2014 – Steep decline in Amazon bestseller status and AT&T sales within first 6 weeks
October 2014 – Amazon takes $170 million charge largely thanks to Fire Phone losses
August 2015 – Barely over 1 year from launch, Amazon discontinues Fire Phone entirely citing unsustainable costs
Estimated lifetime sales: less than 40,000 phones
So with such dismal adoption over just 13 months, what went so horribly awry?
The Reasons For Failure: Amazon‘s Costly Conceit
In the end, the Fire Phone failed because Amazon massively underestimated what it would take to compete in smartphones. Jeff Bezos let hubris and overconfidence obscure market realities.
Riding high off Kindle Fire‘s success, Amazon believed brand recognition was enough to fuel victory. But unlike affordable tablets, premium smartphones faced ruthless competitors. Apple and Samsung dominated through trusted brands, polished OSes and vast app ecosystems.
Despite this landscape, Amazon charged the same sky-high prices as iPhones and Galaxies – without matching their capabilities or third party app breadth. Making matters worse, gimmicks like Dynamic Perspective distracted product teams from creating a fuss-free user experience.
In essence, Amazon counted on superficial bells and whistles to mask core deficiencies in hardware and software. But price-sensitive consumers didn‘t take the bait without competitive power and features underneath. The smartphone arena had no mercy for unfulfilled potential.
And that arrogance ultimately doomed Fire Phone, with a mere 35,000 units sold before pulling the plug after just 13 months. Speed to market and aggressive iteration matter deeply in tech – something Apple knows perfectly…
Apple‘s Winning Ways With The iPhone
The iPhone undoubtedly faced skepticism before launch and through early versions. But Apple nurtured the new product line rather than giving up quickly. And they focused relentlessly on tight integration between hardware and OS to deliver a frictionless experience users loved.
This patient, user-obsessed approach laid the foundation to build out the ultimate ecosystem over time – the App Store. Third party apps became iPhone‘s secret weapon against adversaries. Even with fewer flashy features, the app advantage and overall polish cemented iPhone‘s status as the elite premium smartphone standard.
In contrast, Amazon rushed the flawed Fire Phone to market, chasing gimmicks over creating an ecosystem and valuing pricing over user experience. As a result, after 13 months Fire Phone ended in flames – a cautionary tale of style over substance.
Could Amazon Rise From The Ashes?
Given the debacle of Fire Phone, Amazon returning to the smartphone wars seems unlikely. Even so, if a Fire Phone 2 emerged, the company would need a radically different approach to have any hope:
- Competitive pricing – hardware/network subsidies to penetrate market
- Refined OS – ensure seamless integration and daily driver capabilities
- Focused innovation – address specific gaps left by Apple/Google rather than superfluous gimmicks
Without competitive pricing and core competencies down pat, even the most novel innovations can’t compensate across an entire user experience. But having successfully conquered tablets and smart speakers, Amazon seems content ceding smartphones to the Apples and Googles.
The Fire Phone serves as both a warning for hubris, and an enduring example of how not to take on trillion dollar competitors. Specs alone couldn’t mask UI roughness and missing ecosystems. As a result, Amazon‘s smartphone ambitions went down in flames shockingly fast.
In tech, failure contains important lessons for the wise – and Amazon‘s Fire Phone provides critical insights any hardware startup should consider deeply today. Falling victim to overconfidence can sink even the most promising ideas in ruthless markets. Prioritizing polish over panache is essential.
