What you need to know
- Amazon’s upcoming shutdown date for its app store on Android, August 20, is coming up.
- The company is no longer supporting Android devices with this store, as it shifts its focus to its own Fire Tablets, Fire TV, and more to “improve the experience.”
- Amazon announced this back in February, while also informing users that their Coins will be refunded next week.
The end is nigh for Amazon’s app store for Android devices, as the company enters the final stretch of its support.
A post by Android Police highlights the upcoming shutdown of the Amazon App Store for Android devices. While Amazon’s version was viewed as a decent alternative for users looking for apps that the Google Play Store didn’t carry, we’ll still have to bid farewell to it next week on August 20. Android’s the only way saying goodbye, as Amazon will (of course) keep its store available for its own devices.
As the publication states, once support is over for the Amazon App Store on Android, there’s “no guarantee” that apps will continue to work on those devices. So, it’s likely Android users will need to either drop those apps once the issues start popping up or find alternative options on the Google Play Store.
All app updates will end next week from the Amazon App Store, per the latest report.
Saying goodbye to an alternative store
Amazon started informing developers and consumers alike that it was going to shut down its store for Android on August 20 earlier this year. This alternative app store was available in 200 countries, bringing games and other apps to users who wanted other options. However, Amazon itself felt that there just wasn’t much incentive to keep this store running for Android.
The company said in February that this move was a shift to focusing more on improving its app store experience for its own devices, rather than looping Android into the mix, too. Specifically, an Amazon statement said this move was because an “overwhelming majority of our customers currently engage with it” on its Fire Tablet, Fire TV, and such devices.
The other side was its digital currency: Amazon Coins. These coins will be discontinued, and any remaining will be refunded to users come August 20. We’re also a bit wary of saying goodbye to Amazon’s third-party store, due to the increased grip Google will have.
