Amazon’s solution to stolen package deliveries could involve letting someone into your car or even your home. Sources tell CNBC that Amazon is creating a smart doorbell that would let couriers drop off packages indoors. The company is also reportedly talking to Phrame–a maker of smart license plate frames that open up to reveal a set of car keys–about deliveries to the trunks of vehicles.
Aside from the potential creepiness of it all, one thing worth noting is that Amazon has invested in smart doorbell maker Ring through the Alexa Fund, which provides money to startups that integrate with Amazon’s voice assistant. Some of these startups have expressed concern about Amazon stealing their ideas, especially after Amazon’s Echo Show upstaged the Nucleus smart intercom earlier this year. While Amazon says it firewalls product developers from the funding side, Ring might want to start worrying; secure package delivery could be a killer feature for a rival product from Amazon–assuming customers are comfortable with letting an unattended stranger into their homes.
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