The Appstore will close its doors on August 20. No, not Apple's store, but Amazon's! And only on Android... The online retail giant launched its alternative store to the Play Store in 2011, and there was reason to hope for the birth of a fierce competitor to Google's store. After all, we are talking about Amazon, which has incomparable commercial firepower.
Closing the curtain on a rival to the Play Store
The Appstore may have had great ambitions, but it quickly turned out that Amazon's store was less rich and less well maintained than Google's. Even if it can be installed on an Android smartphone, it is a process that can put off users who are not necessarily aware that it is possible (and Amazon has hardly communicated on the subject). On the other hand, the Play Store is pre-installed on millions of Android devices, which means many potential customers for developers.
The Appstore can only rely on Fire tablets and Fire TV devices to thrive - it sells a lot of them, which is why Amazon is keeping this store for its own devices (the catalog will also remain available directly on Amazon). On the other hand, the Android version will disappear as of August 20. Users will no longer be able to access it on Android smartphones and tablets.
The Amazon Coins program, which allows you to buy additional content in apps and games from the Appstore, will also close its doors on the same day. As of today, it is no longer possible to buy them. Amazon will refund any Coins not used after August 20.
All this is reminiscent of the end of support for the Appstore in Windows 11. Microsoft offered to install Android apps from the Amazon store on your PC. A possibility that will definitely end on March 5th.
Source: Amazon
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