Why Jeff Bezos considers Fire Phone Failure a Good Thing?

Why Jeff Bezos considers Fire Phone Failure a Good Thing?

These are the words of the richest man on earth, the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. He loves failure, because he knows very well that the only way to success is through failures. That is why he didn't mourn the failure of the earlier launched innovation Fire phone. The phone failed deliberately but it wasn't something that can move the roots of Jeff. He is not one of the easily shaken souls. Here in this article we will articulate the story and learn about the whole episode.

“We are working on much bigger failures right now” - Jeff Bezos

What is Amazon?
How was the Fire Phone Idea ignited ?
The Fire Phone
What made Fire Phone unique from normal phones
The Fall of Amazon Fire Phone
Why does Jeff Bezos consider Fire Phone Failure a good thing?
FAQ

What is Amazon?

You must be living under a rock if you don't know what Amazon is. Amazon is the world's biggest E-commerce platform founded by Jeff Bezos. It also focuses on cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence and digital streaming. It quite literally covers the whole world, by the enormous impact it creates.

How was the Fire Phone Idea ignited ?

Can you tell which is the most famous device to read books digitally ? Well, if your answer is ‘Kindle’ then you are right. Kindle is the brainchild of Amazon and essentially a brainchild of Bezos.

As you may already know, Amazon was built on the foundation of selling books online. In further that direction, Jeff innovated and anticipated digital reading that led to Kindle.

Just after witnessing the popularity of Kindle, Jeff decided to disrupt another segment, known as the smartphones. The entrepreneur decided to make a phone that will disrupt the market with its specificities.


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The Fire Phone

Jeff Bezos with Fire Phone
Jeff Bezos with Fire Phone

On June 18, 2014 the Fire Phone was unveiled for the first time to the public. At the first glance it really looked like any other phone in 2014. So the physicality of that phone was not much of a show starter. However the cool thing was the experience that the phone provided.

What made Fire Phone unique from normal phones

Fire OS

Fire Phone - Fire OS
Fire Phone - Fire OS

An operating system free of the Google elements, that's unique. The reason behind this uniqueness is that we all know Google dominates the android market in the world. Amazon did something different with that, it tried to make its own OS, a redesigned app tray, settings, framework everything new. A new app store, a new UI, to match the new elements of the Fire Phone.

Dynamic perspective

Fire Phone - Dynamic Perspective
Fire Phone - Dynamic Perspective

This is the biggest “flex” that the phone showcased. Fire phone can be said to be the first phone with a dynamic perspective. Amazon can be said to be the first brand to scale it. The phone had depth, that means you can actually tilt the phone left to right and see the sides of apps, maps, images etc. That can even be used as a gesture to move through book pages or any list.

This was the innovation that Jeff wanted to present to the world. A new way to navigate through your phone. This was the creative challenge that Jeff posed in front of the engineers.

The basis of this dynamic effect was that it used the phone camera to constantly track the user's head to tilt the screen according to the head angle. As some people opposed questions on its practical uses, This was seen as such a unique innovation.

Firefly

Fire Phone Firefly
Fire Phone Firefly

The scan and search anything option was another bright LED to the belt. Amazon added this feature to strike a tough competition to the other smartphones. The Firefly option is a feature that you can use to scan and search almost any item with your camera.

Some people argued that this was an amazon promotional feature and to be honest, it was. More than that it was one of the uniqueness that the phone entailed.


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The Fall of Amazon Fire Phone

Amazon didn't released the sales figures for any of its devices, but based in part on its quickly declining prices, it announced a $170 million write-down; analysts have judged it having not been commercially successful. Amazon ceased production of the Fire Phone in August 2015 and discontinued sales soon after.

Why does Jeff Bezos consider Fire Phone Failure a good thing?

“If you think that’s a big failure, we’re working on much bigger failures right now — and I am not kidding,” he said. “Some of them are going to make the Fire Phone look like a tiny little blip.”

All these words show the bright and healthy innovation potential that Amazon has in store. Jeff has such a positive outlook towards even a big failure like this. He says that a small amount of win pays for all the losses.

Jeff is famous for his attitude that he showcases even in adverse situations. What really matters for people is to experiment and embrace failures. This mental model goes well with corporations too.

Companies who fear failure do not go much ahead in the world. It is with the positive outlook towards a failure what makes it a stepping stone for growth or success. Jeff does this thing well.

He has nearly created billions of dollars of failures within Amazon, None of them matters to him. He says experimenting runs through Amazon's veins and it is quite evident with his views and his past experiment’s track records.

Conclusion

If we talk about Jeff Bezos for more than five minutes, we all will feel motivated and this article will turn into a motivational speech. The reason is simple because of the wonderful personality that the person has, or gained through years of hard work.

It is not just some sort of being at the right moment at the right time, It is more than that. If you have read the article with your full consciousness then the secret would have unfolded in front of your eyes.

Speaking of the Fire phone, it was truly a fire. Many people argue that the phone could have been an app because customers would be comfortable interacting with that. Whatever it was, we can largely see it as an experiment that came out of Jeff’s brain and failed which truly didn't matter.

The Fire phone flight ended with losses of dollars and earnings of smartphone knowledge. The world is always witnessing such flights and failures but all it takes into account is the try.

FAQ

What are the key characteristics of Jeff Bezos?

Jeff Bezos is a Big Thinker, He has very high standards, he is Strategically Patient and is an Amazing Learner.

Has Jeff Bezos had any failures?

Yes, Jeff Bezos has faced many failures from which the biggest failure is the Fire phone.

How did Jeff Bezos start Amazon?

Jeff Bezos began developing the software for the site, which he called Amazon.com. It sold its first book in 1995.

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