Though it has apps for iOS – both shopping and for Amazon video – available for iPhone and iPad, Amazon has shied away from developing apps for Apple TV’s App Store.
It’s somewhat of a thinly-veiled resistance to arguably its closest competition. Amazon Video apps exist for other smart TV systems, just not Apple’s
However, that might all be about to change. Amazon’s just released an app on the Apple TV App Store… but it’s not for video. The app is called Amazon App: Browse, Search and Shop, and is designed for those wishing to buy products from Amazon.
It’s also designed only for Amazon Prime users – the $99 / £79 subscription offering customers one-day delivery, cloud photo storage, Amazon Prime Video, and Prime Music, and more.
Interestingly, the development contrasts with what Amazon head Jeff Bezos has said about the Apple TV. He explained back in the summer that Amazon wouldn’t stock the fourth-generation Apple TV and video wouldn’t be offered on the device until Apple offered it “acceptable business terms.” Likely, a reduction in the 30 percent cut it usually takes from IAPs.
Whether Apple has or not, the appearance of at least a shopping app on the Apple TV App Store could indicate that an app for Prime Video may still be on the cards.