Here’s a shocker. Google and Amazon are settling their feud and officially making a move that’s awesome for consumers. Amazon Prime Video is coming to Chromecast and Android TV.
Getting media to your TV has never been as easy as it is today. For years now, we’ve had options with Google’s Chromecast, Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV and more. At this point, it’s really coming down to who can get the most attention from consumers. Now, Amazon is teasing an upcoming product that may do just that…
Update: A few minutes after publishing, YouTube’s optimized experience has returned to the Fire TV.
The Google and Amazon dispute has reached its latest salvo with YouTube’s TV-optimized web version now blocked on the Fire TV. Users of the competing Amazon product can still access the video site, but only through an unintuitive desktop experience.
With Amazon announcing that it would begin selling Chromecasts, it seemed that the retailer and Google were finally de-escalating long-running tensions. However, it seems that a deal hasn’t been reached in time as Amazon is telegraphing the impending 2018 block of YouTube to all Fire TV users.
Amazon is reportedly working on two new Fire TV models, and they’ve leaked today in a couple new images (via AFTVNews). Both will reportedly be packing support for 4K HDR video at 60 fps.
But one of them looks a lot like a Google product you might be familiar with…
In terms of look and functionality, Android TV is by far my favorite media platform. However, it lacks a lot of the developer support seen on other platforms such as Roku and Fire TV. Recently a very clever developer created a solution to this, a mod for any Fire TV that essentially turns it into an Android TV.
Amazon has announced today that its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick media streaming devices will be receiving an over-the-air update that will enable a universal search that can find content on 75 different applications and channels. This means less time searching for a show and more time watching it.
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New products & more:
Fire TV owners who happen to be Spotify subscribers can now use the music streaming service on Amazon’s set-top box via controls from their smartphone or tablet. In addition to using a mobile device as a jukebox, Spotify Connect lets you seamlessly switch from Fire TV to your phone without disrupting music playback.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DfrPAAaSLU]
Amazon’s new Fire TV set-top box may seem like every other solution on the market, but there’s one big difference. Fire TV has built-in gaming features that will allow you to play compatible Android games that are available within Amazon’s app store. The bad news is, if you’ve previously purchased any of the compatible titles from the Google Play Store, you’ll need to repurchase them from Amazon. Check out the video overview above for an overview and demo of Fire TV gaming.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhKZ0fQhbeg]
Amazon recently surprised us with its Fire TV set-top box, offering a native solution for customers to stream movies, music, and even play games. Fire TV will only set you back $99, and in my opinion, it’s just what Amazon needed. Instead of relying on third-party streaming solutions, Amazon now has the power to take its media services in a new direction. Take a look at our overview video above to see Fire TV in action.
