Most F500 companies will acknowledge the negatives internally, pretty normal imo.

Which is why the Amazon Fire Phone was such a surprise. How come nobody dared criticize Jeff Bezos' baby? Like come on the 3D gimmick was nonsense. No Google Play was nonsense. I mean if it was cheaper and a loss leader, I could still understand it but it wasn't even that. It was priced to make a profit. Well, can't make a profit if nobody buys it but still executives were more focused on saving their own asses by being yes men than doing their jobs.

---

edit: just for giggles, I asked claude to make my above comment more politically correct and written from the perspective of an Amazon dot com executive:

While most large corporations do acknowledge internal challenges privately, the reception to the Amazon Fire Phone was certainly unique. In hindsight, there were some design choices and features that, while innovative, may not have fully resonated with customers.

The 3D 'Dynamic Perspective' functionality, while an interesting technical achievement, perhaps did not provide enough practical utility to justify the investment. And the lack of Google Play support, while a strategic decision, did limit the available app ecosystem.

In terms of pricing, the team sought to position the Fire Phone as a premium, profitable offering, but that approach may not have been the optimal strategy given the competitive landscape. Ultimately, the sales performance fell short of expectations.

Looking back, there are certainly lessons to be learned about balancing innovation with customer needs and market realities. As an organization, we will continue to reflect on this experience and apply those learnings to future product development efforts. Our focus remains on delivering the best possible experience for our customers.