The living room war is heating up. As of October 29th, Amazon will no longer sell the Google Chromecast and Apple TV. The retailer explains that it has decided to do so “in order to avoid customer confusion” over missing Amazon Video support.
To avoid customer confusion
You might have noticed that Amazon has its own streaming service named Amazon Video and its own Fire TV box. You might also have noticed that Amazon Video is not available on Apple’s and Google’s devices.
So, Amazon is pulling the two competing products from its stores in all regions later this month to divert attention to its new 4K Fire TV box.
- "Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime. It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion. Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, and Fire TV are excellent choices," says Amazon.
Apple and Google have yet to comment on the matter. Both companies have just announced new, updated versions (1, 2) of their streaming devices. Apple will introduce an App Store and Google is already offering the developer tools to support the “Google Cast” button.
It is not clear if Amazon has tried to develop an app for the two devices or if Apple and Google have rejected it. However, both companies demand to get a cut of Amazon’s movie sales through the Amazon Video app on iOS and Android.
Amazon has also just released a new 4K-capable Fire TV box.
- Source: Bloomberg
