Since it launched here last year, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick has been a hugely popular low-cost way of getting streaming services onto your big screen TV, and it does the job superbly. But it’s been missing one crucial thing – a proper YouTube app. While there’s been a YouTube icon on the home screen, it has merely opened a web browser to load the site.
Google and Amazon join forces
This month, though, Amazon and Google have decided to cooperate more closely, and as a result the Fire TV Stick now has a full, official YouTube app available. In addition to providing a much more smooth and seamless user experience, the app integrates with Amazon’s Alexa service to let you launch and control YouTube videos with your voice – such as “Alexa, watch music videos on YouTube”.
Fire TV Stick users should find the new app automatically available on the “Your Apps and Channels” row on the device. Just select the YouTube icon to download it and you’re all set. Amazon says that a YouTube Kids app for Fire TV Stick is also on the way in the second half of 2019.
Amazon Prime Video + Chromecast
At the same time, users of Amazon’s Prime Video apps on iOS and Android will now find that they can use the app with Google Chromecast devices, with full support now added. That gives the many millions of Chromecast owners an easy way to watch Prime Video on the big screen directly from their phone or tablet. And owners of many Android TV devices will find that the Amazon Prime Video app for Android TV now supports a much larger range of TVs and streaming boxes, giving them the option of browsing and watching Prime Video using a full-sized TV interface. Amazon Prime Video is included as a part of the Amazon Prime service, which also gives subscribers access to music, eBooks, special discounts and free two-day domestic shipping on Amazon purchases. A free 30-day trial is available for new members.
