All around the internet, the Amazon Fire Phone has been getting fairly bad reviews. The general consensus is that it is great for hardcore Amazon users, but not really all that good as a smartphone. Surprisingly though, there have been customers for the device, which has appeared in Amazon's Top 10 best-selling smartphones all week.
Quartz has been keeping track of the Amazon Fire Phone. Since its release, the 32GB model has been number one or number two in Amazon's top 10 best-selling smartphones with contracts, and the 64GB model has even popped up at the bottom of that top 10. So, there are obviously those out there who are buying the phone, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind when looking at this data.
First of all, Amazon is not really known for selling smartphones. By far, the most contracts are sold either through the carriers directly or by Best Buy. In fact, NPD said, "Amazon is not a factor in sales of smartphones in the US." So, getting the top spot on that Amazon list isn't all that impressive, because it doesn't require selling too many devices.
The other trouble for Amazon is in the user reviews of the Fire Phone. When Quartz looked at the reviews, there were 311 total reviews (with an average rating of 3 out of 5 stars) and 46 of them included the word "return", which is almost 15% of all reviews. Not all of those reviews can be taken as users that did return the device, one of the top ones says, "Initially I hated it and was going to return it BUT....." Although, on the other hand, there are likely more users who returned the phone but didn't leave a review.
Either way, this is not really an impressive first foray into smartphones for Amazon. The company seems committed though, so we'd expect another Fire Phone next year. We're just hoping Amazon can make the Fire OS a bit more accessible and intuitive, and maybe get more apps in the Appstore.
Michael Heller is known for his clear and informative articles on mobile technology. He explores important topics such as the rollouts of 5G networks and the advancements in mobile payments, offering readers insights into the evolving tech landscape.
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