Microsoft Copilot shakeup, Amazon phone ambitions, and pushing Claude to the limits of LinkedIn

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon is working on a new smartphone, code-named “Transformer,” more than a decade after the Fire Phone debacle, according to Reuters.

We dig into the connection to a past GeekWire scoop: former Microsoft Xbox leader J Allard joined Amazon’s devices team in 2024, and he’s now leading a group called ZeroOne with a mandate to create “breakthrough” gadgets. Is this an AI-native device? A companion to your iPhone? J Allard’s shot at redemption? Maybe all of the above.

There’s more great Fire Phone background in this Vergecast “Version History” podcast.

Then: Microsoft shakes up its Copilot team, shifting Mustafa Suleyman to a narrower role and unifying consumer and enterprise AI under a new leader. Todd has strong feelings about Microsoft’s history of cutesy consumer tech, from Clippy to Mico.

Plus: Todd’s adventure using Claude CoWork to browse LinkedIn (and the stern warning he got in response). We also discuss King County Metro’s slick new tap-to-pay feature catches the transit system up with the modern world, the upcoming opening of cross-lake light rail, and round things out with an Amazon Treasure Truck trivia question.

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Audio editing by Curt Milton.

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