Amazon Video Is Coming To Apple TV, Release Slated For Third Quarter
Amazon Video was a glaring omission when the Apple TV released. In 2015, Amazon even stopped selling Apple TVs on their site. Considering Amazon is the place you can go to for practically everything, it was quite the statement by the company. The odd thing is, Amazon still had apps available on iOS devices, so there has been a way around the lack of an Amazon Video app this entire time. Apple TV users could queue up a show on their iPad, iPhone, or even a Mac, and use Airplay to stream the show or movie. It wasn’t an ideal solution, but the only other option was to buy an Amazon Fire Stick or Amazon Fire TV.
Recode initially reported the news of the app coming to the Apple TV.
“Amazon and Apple may have reached a truce.
“The tech giants, who are increasingly competing for customers’ time, eyeballs and money, are close to an agreement to bring an Amazon video app to Apple’s Apple TV set-top box, according to people familiar with the two companies.
“Amazon employees expect the app to show up on Apple’s hardware in the third quarter of the year.”
With what’s been reported, the app will show up sometime this summer. Bezos reasoned that Amazon wouldn’t sell Apple TVs because they weren’t compatible with Amazon’s video service. That’s about the most anyone could get out of him whenever he was asked about it. Bezos is a smart man, so he gave a smart answer that people couldn’t say wasn’t true. It will be interesting to see if Apple TVs return to Amazon once the new app is out, too. That would definitely be a win for both Amazon and Apple.
As a user of an Apple TV, this is some good news. Many people, myself included, have either resorted to using Airplay or going out and buying an Amazon device to get the best experience with Amazon Video. Since Airplay is based on a wi-fi connection, it isn’t always one hundred percent reliable. That can make for a poor viewing experience. My solution was to grab an Amazon Fire TV Stick one year on Amazon Prime Day when they typically go one sale.
Comparing Amazon Fire TV and the Apple TV
Amazon and Apple are competing in the hardware category. Let’s take a look at what the two TV boxes have to offer.
The Amazon Fire TV offers 4k Ultra HD picture quality and 1080p if you do not have a 4k TV. Alexa is available to use on the device, as well. Their app store has over 10,000 apps, and the main streaming services that you have access to outside of Amazon Video are Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. The remote allows you to launch and control content with the Alexa Voice integration. The 8 GB of storage is expandable up to 200 GB. There’s also 2 GB of memory available. Now, these aren’t all of the details, but they’re some of the main ones to look at when deciding which device is best for you.
Aside from the lack of Amazon Video thus far, the Apple TV also has access to the major streaming services. There are apps for Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. They do offer something great for cable subscribers, though, and that would be single sign-on.
According to Apple’s description, “No more typing in user names and passwords for every app you use. With single sign-on, just enter your cable or satellite subscription credentials once, then get access to all the apps in your pay TV package that support single sign-on.”
It’s a nice feature to have, especially if you aren’t typing anything in with an actual keyboard. The remote is similar to Amazon because Apple offers Siri integration. Apple does offer two versions of their product. It’s based on size, so you can either buy a 32 GB or 64 GB Apple TV.
Overall, the two boxes are very similar. Essentially, it depends on whether you’re Apple-centric or not. Now that Amazon Video will bring it’s app to the Apple TV, there won’t be much that Apple is missing app-wise. Keep an eye out for the app this summer.
[Featured Image by David Ryder/Getty Images]
