Amazon’s Prime Video app will hit the Apple TV in two weeks, rumor claims

In the build up to WWDC this past June, there were rumors that Apple would, at long last, announce Apple TV support for Amazon’s Prime Video service. Alas, WWDC came and went with no mention of Amazon whatsoever. A few months later, Apple introduced a brand new Apple TV with support for 4K streaming, and once again, there was no mention of Amazon.

For as great as the Apple TV is, the absence of a Prime Video app has long been one of the device’s more glaring shortcomings. While there is word that support is on the way, there’s no indication as to when that may actually happen. That said, MacRumors directs us to a Reddit user who claims to be an engineer at Amazon and who recently took to the Apple TV subreddit and said that an Amazon Prime Video app is on track to launch on October 26.

You’ll obviously want to take this with a grain of salt, but in the interest of wishful thinking, the full post reads as follows:

Some of you will remember my post a little while back, in which I warned that Amazon would not launch until at least October 26. We’re now just about two weeks from the 26th, and the app is still on track to launch that day. In my time at this job, I have never once seen a release slip this close to a scheduled launch. I am very confident in saying that the 26th is finally the day.

As to the delay, well, that’s where things get a bit interesting. A follow-up comment reads:

It’s frustrating having finished a project and to have it sit collecting dust, as well. I can’t say I know why it’s being dragged out. The initial concerns were over two issues: Apple’s cut of Amazon’s subscription revenue, and Apple’s access to analytics. Negotiations went on for, and I’m not joking, over a year and escalated to the point where Apple’s head of TV was meeting face-to-face with Bezos on multiple occasions. But those concerns were worked out months ago, and I have to assume it’s for some marketing reason.

Responding to some user comments on the thread, the purported Amazon engineer added that the app will only be supported on the Apple TV 4 and the recently introduced Apple TV 4K. As far as worldwide availability, it will reportedly be available to both U.S. and Europe-based customers in just about two weeks.

Also of note, is the claim that users will be able to “purchase content through the app,” which if true, would seemingly provide iTunes with a little bit of competition on the Apple TV platform.