The era of smartphone apps is in its final chapter, and soon enough, AI will negate the need to install apps on your smartphone. Panos Panay, Amazon’s head of devices and services, has declared in a recent public appearance that the era of smartphone apps is nearing its end and will be ushering in a new paradigm of ambient intelligence where AI seamlessly integrates into daily life without demanding constant screen attention.
Speaking at a recent industry conference, Panay highlighted growing user fatigue with traditional mobile interactions and the transformative potential of generative AI.”The familiar ritual of unlocking a phone, opening an app and scrolling through feeds may be approaching its final chapter,” Panay stated, as originally reported by Moneycontrol.
AI hints at a shifting tech landscape
Panay pointed to behavioural changes, especially among younger users, as a key driver. “There’s a whole younger generation coming up that I think at some point they get tired of doom scrolling,” he said. “They’re going to just think differently.”
This disengagement from endless social media scrolling, combined with the explosive growth of generative AI, is creating a tipping point for smartphones. While mobile devices won’t vanish entirely, Panay says that they could be evolving into one part of a broader ecosystem rather than the central hub.
“The real breakthrough of AI is not about building better applications, but about making the concept of an app feel unnecessary,” he highlighted. In this future, computing becomes proactive and contextual—anticipating needs without manual input, such as navigating routes or answering queries intuitively.
Amazon’s vision for ambient AI and Alexa
Panay described ambient intelligence as a model where “computing does not live primarily on a screen but exists quietly across devices, homes and wearables, ready to respond when needed and invisible when not.”
“Instead of navigating menus or learning interfaces, users will increasingly rely on natural interaction,” he added. “Asking a question and receiving an answer becomes the default, without the friction of opening apps or searching manually.”
This aligns closely with Amazon’s ambitions for Alexa, which is evolving into a cross-device AI companion unbound by a single hardware platform. Leveraging its ecosystem of smart home products, wearables, and audio devices, Amazon aims to make Alexa a pervasive, seamless presence.
Panay also stressed the importance of trust. “Trust is a non-negotiable contract between technology companies and their customers. If that trust is broken, users will simply walk away, regardless of how advanced the technology may be,” he added.
