I think what we may have here is Amazon using hardware to simulate interest and jump-start eventual software. While this seems really cool, it also seems so wasteful that I'm not sure I can bring myself to really use one of these. What I think would be good though is an Amazon quick-list of essentials that you can access in a very streamlined way through the Amazon phone app.
A quick list of purchasables through the phone app is something essentially have, or could have with very minimal work. Getting people to use what essentially doesn't sound like that interesting of a feature is the problem. A cool swizzy new hardware device fits that need, and once people are using that, the App just pre-fills the quick list with items they are using through hardware. People can then decide whether they want a new button for a new essential, or just to add it to the app, and eventually people are just using the app more because there don't exist certain buttons or waiting for them is a hassle.
Not the kind of thing just any company could pul off, but it is the kind of thing I think Amazon could.
A quick list of purchasables through the phone app is something essentially have, or could have with very minimal work. Getting people to use what essentially doesn't sound like that interesting of a feature is the problem. A cool swizzy new hardware device fits that need, and once people are using that, the App just pre-fills the quick list with items they are using through hardware. People can then decide whether they want a new button for a new essential, or just to add it to the app, and eventually people are just using the app more because there don't exist certain buttons or waiting for them is a hassle.
Not the kind of thing just any company could pul off, but it is the kind of thing I think Amazon could.