Amazon Kills off the Fire Phone
While the world was glued to the launch of Apple’s new smartphones, Amazon quietly killed off its own. The Fire Phone was released last year and has since then fared poorly in the market. The phone was the first and only smartphone launched by Amazon, and the company has no plans on bringing it back.
According to the Amazon website, the phone is currently unavailable and “we don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock”. An Amazon spokesperson told Fortune that “we sold through our inventory of the Fire phone in the U.S. and globally, and we do not plan to replenish stock at this time,”
The plan to discontinue the device comes as no surprise as the phone failed to make a dent in the already crowded smartphone market. One of the main reasons for its failure was designing the phone in a way as to only suit Amazon’s own services, with limited apps and more focus on Amazon shopping.
However, the company will continue to provide support and service for existing Fire Phone users. It seems Amazon’s next move is to focus on the $50 tablet that they plan to launch later this year.
