Is this the end of smartphone apps? Amazon’s alexa chief predicts an AI-driven future

An interesting discussion has surrounded the technology world towards the end of 2025. This time around, Amazon’s Head of Devices and Services Panos Panay gave the industry some food for thought. The tech leader suggested that smartphones apps are on their way out and the era of ambient computing is here.

Apps are what many of us use every single day to go about our daily lives. Whether it’s unlocking the smartphone, hopping into social media platforms, or endless scrolling sessions on Twitter, the relationship between us and the digital space is well established. However, according to Panay, speaking at the event, this is an antiquated user pattern that doesn’t understand how humans relate to technology today.

Panay hinted that the smartphone as we know it is no longer that important because it’s only one interface, one screen, and one way to interact with digital content. The computing evolution, according to Panay, is about creating spaces for non-app-based experiences, where technology doesn’t get in your way until you need it to. We don’t have to think about the app on the device anymore to get what we want from tech, instead we live in an ambient environment that just anticipates.

The term “ambient” became a buzzword in 2025 due to the fact that this model of intelligence involves using a number of computing platforms such as devices, surfaces, wearables, environments, etc. The principle of ambient computing is to make everything smarter, more sensitive and more reactive in a way that anticipates, and understands the user, thus giving contextual, immediate and invisible experiences.

An example of how ambient intelligence would work in our daily lives would be us not having to open a map app on a smartphone to determine how to get from point A to point B, but instead the device or virtual assistant would just know. In a way, that would make technology invisible and just an ever-present aid in our lives.

Amazon’s Personal AI assistant Alexa is very much at the centre of this concept, as according to Panay, its mission is not just to be on a smart speaker or on a smartphone. The digital assistant is part of a much larger plan and the goal for Amazon is to have it in every context, every surface, and every environment that a user may find themselves in. It’s also not the only company with similar ideas, but it seems that Amazon is more confident than others in its mission to create an ambient computing environment. The idea is that at some point, the very notion of an “app” will feel outdated and unnecessary, instead it will be just the technology being smart.

Consumers are also reportedly changing their behaviour to this more ambient way of living. It seems that younger people are becoming exhausted by the constant doom-scrolling in social media, and as a result of this, the app is dying. It’s all very interesting, but smartphones still will exist according to Panay. They just might not be the only interface around. What we don’t yet know is how this ecosystem will bridge the two worlds we currently have, the app, and the ambient. Some of the possibilities are wearables, smart surfaces, audio gear, and even some new categories entirely.