Amazon is approaching the launch of its Alexa home robot – but some staff members working on it are apparently afraid it will be an expensive flop.
The tech titan has more than 800 employees working on the extremely mysterious “Vesta”, a Roomba-like device that, according to Insider, can roll into a house according to the owner’s voice commands.
But development delays and ‘shifting strategies’ are that some staff are worried it could eventually become an expensive niche product few people want to buy, the store reported on Tuesday, citing six people directly involved in the project.
“People are very skeptical – we’m worried it could turn into another Fire Phone,” one source told Insider, referring to the unsuccessful smartphone on which Amazon made a write-off of $ 170 million in 2014, the year it has been released.
Vesta is reportedly in the works under the auspices of Lab126, Amazon’s personal device unit created by the popular Kindle e-reader and Echo personal assistant speaker, for four years.
With one prototype 10 to 13 inches wide, the device will likely be equipped with a screen, a microphone, multiple cameras and a small compartment to carry objects around, sources told Insider.
The report can also be equipped with a retractable pole-mounted camera that can help the owner find objects such as wallets or keys.
But it’s allegedly unclear exactly how popular it could be, as the price of $ 1,000 could be more. Amazon is planning low sales and may initially make Vesta a “limited invitation product”, limiting the risk of accumulating unused inventory, according to Insider.
Amazon also tried to cut costs by moving one of its Vesta suppliers from China to Mexico, but the switch led to manufacturing issues that pushed the launch of the device further back, the store reported.
Asked about Insider’s report, an Amazon spokesman said the company did not comment on “rumors and speculation”.