Amazon will discontinue its app store for Android on August 20th, according to a notice the company sent developers indicating that they will no longer be able to submit new apps to the store. The company also said it would be discontinuing its Coins digital currency, which could be used to purchase games and apps on the app store.
Quick Backstory: The Amazon Appstore for Android is an alternative app marketplace operated by Amazon, allowing users to download and install apps, games, and digital content on Android devices and Fire OS-powered devices such as Amazon Fire tablets and Fire TV. The app store came pre-installed on Amazon Fire devices and could be manually installed on Android devices as an alternative to the Google Play Store. Unlike Google Play, the Amazon Appstore does not offer Google services like Google Maps API or Google Play Services, which some apps rely on, but it's served as a decently popular alternative app distribution platform, especially for users of Amazon’s ecosystem.
An Amazon spokesperson said:
“We’ve decided to discontinue the Amazon Appstore on Android to focus our efforts on the Appstore experience on our own devices, as that’s where the overwhelming majority of our customers currently engage with it.”
Amazon Appstore also works on Windows devices, allowing users to install Android apps on their PCs, but the company already announced last year that it will discontinue support for its app store on Windows starting March 5, 2025.
Moving forward, after August 20th, the Amazon Appstore will only work on Amazon's own Fire devices.
Peculiar Timing
It's an interesting moment in history to shut down one of the only alternative app stores to Google Play and Apple App Store that had any existing traction, in light of recent regulatory changes in the European Union mandating that Google and Apple permit alternative app stores on their platforms to foster competition and provide consumers with more choices.
You'd think that this would be the exact moment for Amazon to double down on its app store efforts and cement its position amongst developers, while bridging a gap between its AI efforts and mobile devices. However apparently cost cutting is playing a more important role in the company's future.
In other Amazon shut downs this week… the company sunset Chime, it's underwhelming Zoom and Google Meet alternative that launched in 2017 with a focus on business usage. Chime had little adoption outside of Amazon, which largely contributed to its shutdown, according to an Amazon spokesperson.