Amazon’s Panos Panay sees AI devices reducing reliance on apps

Amazon devices chief Panos Panay said he expects people to rely less on apps as artificial intelligence takes on more everyday tasks. Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, he described a future built around ambient devices that work quietly in the background rather than waiting for users to issue commands.

Panay said today’s smartphone use often requires people to remember what they want a tool to do. Ambient devices, he said, could use sensors and AI to help identify what needs attention, allowing people to stay more present and spend more time with others.

Amazon’s new Bee devices are its main entry into this area. The products include a band that can be worn on the wrist or detached and used as a pendant, and a credit-card-sized device that attaches magnetically to a smartphone. They record audio passively and create notes, reminders, to-dos and insights. Bee says the devices process audio in real time and delete the raw audio afterward. Conversation transcripts are encrypted with keys created and controlled by the user’s device; Amazon employees cannot access them unless users choose to share them.

Panay said privacy must be built into ambient devices and that customers need control. He joined Amazon after 19 years at Microsoft, where he oversaw Surface development. He expects apps to become less central as AI handles more tasks, but said he does not think one device format will replace another. Instead, he described an intelligence layer connecting devices and making them useful.