The Forgotten Amazon Fire Phone - Retrospective Review

[@91Tech]

Fair to say Jeff Bezos had a burning passion for this phone, even if it went down in flames. I'll see myself out. For more fire puns, follow me on twitter @91_tech! Instagram too why not

[@qwobot]

lmao phone sucked

[@matthewl5434]

me when pun

[@RWL2012]

Usually anything with "forgotten" in the title I never forgot. This though, I never knew it existed in the first place!

[@jbelli1296]

Are you going to do a review on the ps5 when it comes out if you get one and I been sud snice day 33

[@davidlevy706]

_"But if you wanted it on contract, you had to sign up with AT&T, at least in the US."_ Believe it or not, a Fire Phone purchased without a contract for $649 (16GB model) or $749 (32GB model) was still locked to AT&T. The product's abysmal sales prompted Amazon to slash the prices and began marketing the non-contract versions unlocked (under a separate ASIN, thereby excluding the terrible reviews from customers who mistakenly thought they were buying a non-carrier-specific product).

[@Omegapork]

That ad for the phone at the beginning actually wasn't bad, the "I've been on this earth 9 years" joke won me over.

[@jamesslick4790]

Yeah, That was a cute line, Made me laugh.

[@KingRiverVlogs]

It definitely wasn’t a bad commercial

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

Yeah no. I cringed so hard.

[@sixunity1171]

@Frebs oh, you would be surprised

[@yhelloh]

@Frebs to cancel you

[@meandmyEV]

I had one of these. About a year after release, Amazon was selling them with a year of Prime for $99 so basically a free phone since I was going to pay for Prime anyway. I never put a SIM card in it but it worked ok. Nothing to write home about.

[@erickcardona4181]

I did the same thing. I installed google play and used it until my volume button stopped working.

[@diceroll2843]

@@erickcardona4181 The fire operating system is like a frankenstein android because it runs android generically but not supporting official google frame work so there is are compatibility problems

[@camptube7621]

Good thinking.

[@themightyavenger1023]

I just remember MKBHD talking about how people shouldn’t buy it back in the day lol

[@rubenrodriguez5020]

It is not apple so not wondering why he did not recomend

[@coolerking7427]

He didn't even like the LG G8. It was a great phone. He really only supports the main players.

[@diceroll2843]

@@rubenrodriguez5020 Both apple and Google ripped off amazon since amazon was the first make different size tablet and independent small upgrades and exclusives to each version of the fire computer.

[@emperorfaiz]

@@rubenrodriguez5020 Nice joke

[@davidcazares7441]

@@rubenrodriguez5020?

[@Fire_Farhan]

Expectation: the most fire phone of all time Reality: a phone that should be set on fire

[@Michael-tm6vs]

Bruh lol

[@alana.1735]

IMA JUST MAKE THAT 101 FOR Y'ALL PEOPLE WITH OCD

[@ZygardeCruiser]

Samsung Galaxy note 7: hold my c4 Bomb😎😎😎

[@LilFishGirlA]

😂😂😂😂

[@xbrandon2252]

Why should it be set on fire?

[@superiorone2061]

I remember seeing those Fire phone commercials back in the day....and I also remember never meeting anyone who actually bought one.

[@djspookyty]

yeah same

[@CuddleMuffin_rr]

i knew some emo kid back during my freshmen year of high school with one

[@CuddleMuffin_rr]

now im trying to get one myself lol

[@jakemorandthemomoz8154]

Like me with foldables

[@LilFishGirlA]

That’s probably why they discontinued them because no one would buy them.

[@bledwhite409]

I remember seeing one once in an Amazon store. I also remember wanting one so bad, and I saved up enough money for one. Then my mom said I couldn’t buy one, so I bought a fire 7. It worked well until my cousin threw it out the window. It still works, but I don’t really use it much.

[@KLC6432]

Cool story Bro.

[@bledwhite409]

Thanks

[@bledwhite409]

Yep, and it landed on the edge of a brick from around 5 stories up cracking it along the middle back. Somehow, it survived, apart from the digitizer. I swapped the casing and screen, and now it works.

[@Kay-wp8xf]

I'm so so sorry, but the "It still works" made me giggle

[@bledwhite409]

Kay now that I notice that, it makes me giggle too.

[@yeahman70]

My mom got this phone, she liked it until the battery died and couldnt get it fixed. AT&T didnt even know it existed when we brought it to take a look at it. She got a new phone

[@qwobot]

just sold my old fire phone on ebay right as this uploaded

[@sameershafique7518]

Why did u sell it?

[@simplyalonso]

Lol

[@kotuploads]

Sureee

[@qwobot]

@@sameershafique7518 cause it sucks fam

[@qwobot]

also money

[@SJ95507]

Another weird one would be the HTC First aka “Facebook Phone”

[@leknightclub]

yes, josh should definitely review that one!

[@DacLMK]

Oh I remember the HTC First "Facebook phone" and it's other HTC "Facebook phones" predecessors like the HTC ChaCha and Salsa.

[@RobbertN]

@@DacLMK I had the ChaCha used it for two years.

[@joniquealexander1135]

Oh I forgot about that one!

[@WarriorRazor]

I bought the Fire Phone when it came out, used it for years, absolutely loved it. Still like it now but it's so outdated that it can't be used. You could easily stick Google services and a proper launcher on it and it was just a normal phone then but the 3D effect was very impressive.

[@Bill-uc8mx]

I still use mine today with the launcher hack I am now being forced to switch to a free Samsung s10+ because of att Volte change.

[@brenegadde1278]

Even windows phone fell from grace,they would have a chance now if they released the mid to low range market is booming

[@brian_jake]

The problem was apps same to BlackBerry. Windows store was too shallow for many

[@melonademan5639]

In terms of apps and OEMs, Windows Phone was at its prime in 2012-2013. It could’ve very well had a chance to survive. The thing is, Windows Phone OEMs were in fact targeting all markets (low range, mid range, and high range) in all sorts of countries.

[@estherstreet4582]

The market is booming, but a lot of the appeal of cheaper androids is that they do run all the apps and games that flagship androids do (aside from really ram-heavy games. I don't think there's much of an appeal for anything that's not android or ios right now.

[@melonademan5639]

Esther street They don’t run them well though.

[@stoneprevious4294]

@@brian_jake Came here to say the same. It doesn't matter how great your software is, if there is no ecosystem to support it...a slow and painful death it will meet. ❤️BB10😭

[@trytesting4114]

this phone is like the red phone. alot was promised but little was given...

[@InsaneFire10YT]

how can it be forgotten if no one knew about it 🤣

[@dannydanny9875]

lol true

[@EmilySucksAtGaming]

I remember seeing the commercials as a kid and I think my mom's friend had one but aside from that I remembered nothing about it

[@Passionate_Potato]

This was a fun phone for me. I got two when it was ultra clearance ($80 I believe). I got two years of prime and put cyanogen mod on it. Used them for a year or two and then sold them on eBay. Made a little bit of a profit when I sold them.

[@DanielleWhite]

I remember the launch. As someone who's in tech but not particularly invested in smartphone interests it struck me that there was a whole lot of attention until just after it launched and then it pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth

[@NotTheFallen355]

Man I had this phone from 2014 to 2016 and really liked it other than the lack of apps. I was a fan of the simple UI and design of the phone. And the little flick from the sides and tilt to scroll features were hella nice too

[@Psycheux_]

"I've been alive for 9 years " *has twitter* sounds like most of twitter tbh

[@ajemajh]

if you think about it. the kid aged 15 this year

[@danielrockett4434]

I really like that you found your passion, keep posting and I'll keep watching, King!

[@hack4fun131]

0:54 That face that you make when you realize your kids are advertisements

[@Russia_Moscow_countryhuman]

I miss the Amazon underground section of the store, it was amazing!

[@chvbshjrgbhjfhnmkrtfhgktgv1488]

Amazon fire phone damn reminds me of august and September 2019 oof

[@kilovwdude6457]

Boi this thing came out in 2014

[@CactusBoi420]

@@kilovwdude6457 😂

[@chvbshjrgbhjfhnmkrtfhgktgv1488]

Kilovw Dude I know it says it in the video it was a joke r/wooosh

[@riceexe]

@@chvbshjrgbhjfhnmkrtfhgktgv1488 Your joke was so unfunny, it didn't seem like a joke

[@chad3328]

When it became clear that the phone was a failure, I remember them getting really cheap on Amazon up until they were discontinued. I want to say they were going for about $199 at the time. I almost bought one but ended up getting a Moto g instead.

[@kornweed]

my stepdad has actually been using this phone up till 2018 when the battery died out from so much heat and being charged, he switched to an iphone 6+ thou, but i remember this phone well

[@trexmike222]

I Was a fire phone user. It was a great smartphone experience!

[@TheEuropeanFox]

I remember someone called HP with this obscure OS wanting to install printing software, he was sad to hear it's not supported.

[@rixzin5046]

Seeing that commercial filled me with a wave of nostalgia. I remember seeing that commercial on tv a few times and saying "I wish I had a phone "

[@Giorg189]

Apple still sells 4.7 inch 720p phones (iPhone se 2020) for those who feel nostalgic of 2014.

[@keeneboy7700]

I remember an ad that talked about it's "gee golly whiz bang" feature of being able to take a picture of an ad that had a phone number in it...and being able to dial the number right from the picture. I was sorely unimpressed.

[@cavegamer5989]

I actually really wanted one of these back then..

[@cesartapia610]

Well, now's your chance.

[@christianaquino5230]

Am I the only one who is actually attracted to the 3d display?

[@justinvalentin8983]

I saw the commercials and really wanted to trade in my iPhone 5s for this. I'm super glad that didn't happen.

[@darksoul7675]

I only remember this phone from that commercial 6 years ago 😂

[@blvrryvhs]

I only remembered the ad cuz it had Minecraft and I got excited when I saw that in 2015 but I didn’t even care or know about the phone

[@chaelovable]

He made this on my birthday so the video immediately attracted me 💀

[@c462-]

Man, i just discovered your channel with the netbooks video, and i'm loving all your content so far! Obviously already subscribed!

[@chadtv7049]

I had a Amazon fire 7 when I was younger. I found it about a month ago and it feels so slow now 😂. When I use to use it, it had no problems with speed. That shows that tablets and smart phones are progressing fast.

[@SnickterP]

Lifelong iPhone owner since the original, I picked up one of these Fire phones when the price dropped like crazy to tinker around with Android. Their app store was largely useless. Side loaded the Play store and changed the launcher and not only opened up features much more, but also made it feel pretty usable.

[@robw3872]

I had one of these. It was pretty cool to be honest. Bland at times, yeah. But what I really liked was when I sideloaded apps like nova launcher and other google play stuff. It was pretty nifty then. If Amazon made FireOS more android-like while keeping the features it originally had (minus the 3d thing lol)and kept the price low, I feel like they could've done a good job with it. It would have sold well along with their fire tablets. Nowadays, I feel like the "cheap amazon" phones are Blu.

[@crazywall256]

Dang, I remember when i kept seeing these ads feels so old

[@95blahblahhaha]

Omg these youtubers are getting younger and younger. I remember the fire phone like it was yesterday

[@NFSMWFAN9238]

I remember looking at this wrong here and it was exclusive to AT&T and they had it for sale for $.99 on a two-year contract

[@CertifiedPizzaman]

I still have this phone, and I got it when it was relevant but It was already considered a flop by the time I got it. I was up for and upgrade and on the phone with AT&T and just casually mentioned it. With that, the rep on the phone was practically begging me to take it, I guess they were stuck with them. I wasn't big into phones and my phone at the time was three years old so I was like "Sure, whatever. New phone." I don't remember what my payment was exactly, but they practically gave me the phone for nothing, 64gb version no less. It wasn't a bad phone but the worst part was not having access to the Play store, nothing a bit of sideloading didn't fix. Despite the specs, this phone was always snappy as hell for me and I ended up loving it. I keep my old phones and they all became slow over time but I swear this phone is still just as snappy today as it was in 2014 when I got it. I connect it to my wifi and still use it as a radio,and for some light mobile gaming.

[@pices229]

I love the 3d effect that phone had. I wish the phones today could do that.

[@Armyvet12]

The fire phone... yup... Actually loved that phone! Lol! Bought it in late 2014 and by beginning of 2017 I've went through 3 of them lol the battery just went out and killed the whole phone... but I loved it! It's time Amazon makes another attempt!

[@DuckInGameStop]

Interesting, the battery is the same issue I had with my old Fire tablet... (other than it being a cheap piece of crap in general) it was fine for a while but then suddenly started getting worse and worse until one day I could barely use it at all because it just kept dying I guess Amazon is not good at making batteries

[@jrdhayou]

I remember when this came out, only because of Hilary Duff’s All About You music video 😂😂😂

[@Dr-Random]

0:10 lol Josh: oh no I need that phone to survive!

[@nonyabusiness999]

I had this phone and it was really good,it was fast feature rich and looked awesome but as you've pointed out using amazons version of android ruined it...the 3d wallpaper and ui was very cool...

[@doomy_doomy2225]

I actually remember these commercials. I actually thought it was just a prime advertisements back in the day lol.

[@jiden77]

Very cool video. Thanks for sharing this neat history on the Fire phone.

[@Garrettdx1988]

I remember being impressed with the spec sheet and even played around with one at an AT&T store. Ultimately, the software killed it for me.

[@Hrethgir]

I remember the commercials and ads for this thing. Stopped in at an AT&T store in the mall to look at it. Picked it up, checked out the perspective stuff, and put it back down, there was no way it was worth owning.

[@dukktekk]

wtf, literally a few days ago i was gonna search "fire phone in 2020" but never got to it, and then i got this video suggested today. good timing

[@TEchWIse2203]

Nice video josh

[@WhosinParis]

Josh, I am so happy for you, I remember when you got your first 100k! Now it's 200k 1 million will be here before you know it!

[@alejandrovallencci]

Amazon lost millions on this phone? God I feel so bad for Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world

[@bernielomax4702]

Why is the word "ironic* so difficult for people to understand? 90 percent of it's useage online is just flat out wrong. Helpful hints... It does NOT mean coincidence.

[@ricardosmith2060]

Lol I had one of these, I bought it when the price tanked. The hardware tbh was great for the time but the lack of play store and vanilla android killed it for me. Thank God for XDA developers, they made it much more usable.

[@Stevowoh]

I was an ATT rep selling this phone when it came out. Sold 3 of them, and each person came back to return it. There were many bugs day 1. When Amazon realized it became a failure, 2 months in, they started selling the phone no contract, for $100. Still no one would purchase it and all the inventory was sent back to Amazon.

[@taylorswiftfan3ever]

This brings back odd memories 🥴

[@jennajeffries6872]

So my bf works for Amazon, and an interesting fact is you cant download some of there own apps thru there app store, like Amazon a to z, which is an app for there employees

[@TheFrogInYourClosetWatchingYou]

The 3D aspect is really neat gimmick or not lol

[@lawrencium2652]

I bought two of these on eBay when they were being liquidated and still got the prime subscription with them, so they were basically free. I remember rooting them and installing a custom rom. If you look on my channel my top video was filmed with it.

[@cire1963]

I didn't even know a fire phone know it existed.

[@maikwei8402]

I remember it, my local radio station even talked about it. They said that "the iPhone gets another competitor" or something like that

[@CarlosGarcia2]

You have a tech channel and have seriously never heard of the Fire Phone? Anyway, I'm actually surprised to hear it was released in 2014 and not sooner. I remember how bad it did and Amazon did a Fire sale and sold them for like 50 bucks so a lot of people bought them solely for that. And I think it still came with the Prime subscription.

[@MrRodrigo1250]

OMG I remember seeing it at an AT&T store when I was in Vegas (2014)

[@cell718]

I knew a girl who had it got an internship and really had to work and had to use the phone it wasn't really working for her and what she had to do in the office.

[@ChrisTechmp3]

This video is pretty interesting! I have actually never heard of it so this was pretty cool to watch! Nice job!

[@albaformiga7932]

That phone was cool it could have been the 3rd major mobile os, if only it had more app support and was much cheaper

[@siwright1517]

well done josh! love your content

[@itxofficial8281]

Awesome video man! I clearly remember the Amazon keynote, Bezos stood there acting like Steve Jobs and praising the Fire phone like it's gonna be the next iPhone killer or something... And we all just sat at home, thinking: Is he going absolutely nuts?!? I mean, even for 2014, the specs were a joke, Fire OS was a mess right from the start (and still is!), it brought nothing new to the table but at the same time cost more than a decently specced, 2014 mid-range Android phone. The 3D thing was cool, but as you said multiple times: completely useless and not more than a gimmick. Also, Android phones endorsing 3D was nothing new back then. The LG Optimus 3D did a far better job integrating special proprietary 3D features, more than 3 years before the Fire phone. Let's just say, the Fire phone was an aggregation of bad decisions. It could've been a huge success, if they would've dropped the 3D gimmick entirely and instead focus on producing a decent budget phone to add to their very successful Fire table lineup.

[@cherrypepsi2815]

Not forgotten by me. I loved this thing.

[@Beetlejuicer]

I remember that commercial like it was just yesterday LMAO

[@sburton015]

I do remember that I had an Amazon fire tablet back in late 2016 to early 2017. I do remember doing some reading and I remember that there was a way to get the Google play store in fire os so you can download Android apps.

[@heatheralisa8658]

oh gosh i remember watching that first commercial sooo many times but I have forgotten about it until now.

[@SpaceSentinel]

I'm feeling pretty fired up now.

[@dasonicc]

Amazon's naming scheme for their Fire devices are so weird. The name Kindle Fire X 8.9 is just depressingly long.

[@melonademan5639]

I doth think they name their devices like that anymore.

[@nanparayeah]

Just when I'm about to turn in for the night because it's already 2:05am, Josh drops a new video 😅 PS: gosh I'm too early lol

[@91Tech]

Sleep can wait :)

[@nanparayeah]

Oh yes lol

[@MCGamer-tj9nr]

I don’t need sleep I need answers

[@CoopTheDoop]

I’ve been rewatching the flash and in S1E11 the flash uses one of these. As soon as I saw it I came right to this video as I’d seen the thumbnail earlier. Weird.

[@META313.]

I knew about this phone in 2015 and it was like an innovation to lotta people back then. My friend even had one

[@michaelstaschke9022]

My cousin had one and I thought it was really cool and about a year or 2 after she got it I asked where her fire phone was and she tried to avoid the conversation and now I understand why.

[@SeenHow_]

It's really weird but I like it a lot. I remember when I traveled to US and saw this, I knew I'm gonna get one of these from the second-hand market one day. And I actually bought one last year, yeah it's a total flop to those average consumers, but as a phone nerd, I love it so much.

[@JWTV354]

0:23 I LOVE that sing

[@donovan5317]

I was actually working for Amazon when this phone was released so I definitely remember the buzz that it generated, lol. I seriously considered getting it but I’m glad I just stuck with my iPhone!

[@teh_supar_hackr]

That commercial was all that I remember from this phone at all. Who even uses Amazon Fire?

[@XXstaticxHeroXX]

I for some reason remember that Ad with 100% clairity but not the phone itself at all.

[@SDRIFTERAbdlmounaim]

that 3d background is like those fake facebook ads showing fake 3d backgrounds with skulls and whatnot 😂

[@TrueRetroflection]

Hey, that's 91Tech in the commercial!

[@DrunkASMR]

ITS NOT FORGOTTEN! I FUCKING LOVED THAT THING!!

[@GeorgeWilkins]

I do remember hearing about this years ago at some point. Not sure when.

[@ModricoTV]

Can a Fire Phone still be used as a KZbin player? Or watch stuff with Prime?

[@MegaKirb]

1 view 32 seconds ago, thanks for letting me be early, love your channel, and keep up the good work!

[@jabbott7]

I'm from the UK, and over here, it was so weird, Amazon bringing out a phone, it was on the news. Not Web news, TV news - BBC News. Very weird indeed.

[@camfarenheit71]

I remember seeing the ad for this when I was about 12-13 and REALLY wanting this phone haha

[@thoughtstorn854]

Great video Man.

[@mattandsarahaschan]

I worked for ATT at the time. We got about a day's notice that it was coming out and they were pushing us to push it on customers. It was hard to do when I wasn't impressed with it myself, and I had an iPhone at the time. That was what I was trying to sell cuz it's what I had. I knew the system and could sell people on it from my own experience, not some tech speck sheet we were supposed to memorize. I think I sold one or two...

[@XanthosAcanthus]

I mean, they should just make a budget phone using the fire hardware. And maybe a price point under $150, and they just might be able to make a successful product.

[@jtreacy86]

I remember when these were released and considered getting one (mainly for having the e-reader function). But the reviews were bad so I forgot about it. Besides it’s obvious that it was just a vehicle for Amazon to commit consumers to their services alone. But in the end that is what made it fail. People don’t want a proprietary device for a phone. Heck, even an iPhone seemed more “open” then the Fire phone. Will never buy another Amazon device again after buying my son a later version Fire only to have to pay more after opening it so he didn’t have to see an ad every time he used it.

[@brentpourciau8799]

I still have mine and I still use it. I get asked all the time about it. I like the phone. I like being different

[@Alex-rq1eq]

I loved that phone. I just hated the weight, width and the sharp angles by the charging port. I place my pinky at the bottom of the phone on the port, and the sharp plastic would hurt it.