If no one uses the Amazon Appstore, will its demise make any difference? We’ll find out in August 2025, when Amazon stops offering the Appstore for Android devices.
Amazon stops providing Appstore for Android
Android users will no longer have access to the Amazon Appstore starting August 20, 2025. After that, you will no longer be able to download new apps or update any existing apps from the Amazon Appstore on Android.
While you can keep your existing Amazon Appstore apps on your Android device after the August 2025 deadline, Amazon doesn’t guarantee that they’ll continue to work. Plus, given the security risks of having zombie apps on your phone, it’s probably best to plan to delete them immediately.
Along with the store, Amazon is also phasing out its Amazon Coins program. According to Amazon's FAQ, Amazon Coins were previously "used for purchases on some apps and in-app purchases." As of February 20, 2025, you won't be able to buy new coins anymore, and you have until August 20 to spend your remaining balance. If you don't use them all by August, Amazon says they'll be refunded, but details on how that works "will be shared later."
To be clear, this doesn’t change anything for Amazon devices like Fire TV and Fire Tablets. Those devices will continue to have access to the Amazon Appstore.
Is the Amazon Appstore a Loss for Android Users?
You might be wondering why this really matters, when the Google Play Store is objectively the top choice for apps on Android devices. While the Amazon Appstore is considered a pretty good alternative to the Google Play Store for Android apps, it doesn’t offer much that Google Play doesn’t.
By comparison, Google’s app store had more than 3.5 million apps by 2022, while Amazon’s had just over 480,000. Indeed, the Amazon Appstore has grown somewhat since then, with more than 530,000 apps by the end of Q2 2024, according to Statista.
The only real reason to keep the Amazon Appstore on Android devices is to serve as a backup to Google Play, in case any app developers have a disagreement with Google. You might recall the Fortnite fights of the 2020s, when game developer Epic Games sued Google for monopolizing its app store, leading to the removal of the popular Fortnite game from the Google Play Store.
The Amazon Appstore shutdown means that if you’re an Android user, you’re stuck with Google’s app offerings or need to install an alternative app store, like F-Droid. If Google continues to anger companies like Epic Games, users could miss out on some exciting new games or other products. But there are often multiple ways to access such exclusive apps, from mobile web apps to cloud gaming services.
Regardless, it’s clear that Amazon is in the midst of a major cleanup, from unpopular TikTok-style platform removals to shuttering its Zoom-like video conferencing app. If Amazon is so confident in clearing out the old, expect whatever comes next to be just as impressive.
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