Amazon Prime Video App for Apple TV

So maybe I’m a tiny bit excited that finally, oh yes finally, the Amazon Prime Video App has landed on the Apple TV store (surely no man should get this excited about such a seemingly mundane topic).

Amazon vs Apple history

Amazon and Apple have been locked in a battle for the last few years. It’s little surprise really, since their products overlap in many areas. Siri vs Alexa. Pay to watch TV and Films. And possibly even self-drive cars…

Apple charges a small fee for each transaction on the app store, so Amazon gave the proverbial finger to Apple and forced their customers to use the web to buy content. Each time you want to buy a film on prime, you have to go to the online version of Amazon. The same is true of Audible.

Now it seems the two have reached an agreement (no doubt exclusive) and formed a symbiotic relationship. One of the drivers for this might lie in Amazon’s relentless drive to create a huge 4K library of films, which Apple wants to capitalise on. The truth is, only the top dogs at both giants will really know the depth of the agreement.

Losing ground

This is very much my own personal opinion (disclaimer, disclaimer) …but I do feel Apple has been losing ground of late. When I say ‘of late’, what I really mean is since the late Steve Jobs. We invested in two top of the pick Mac Pros (you know, the toilet scrub holder looking things), only to be disappointed with their performance. Our office is filled with Mac’s, but I see a future switch to PCs looming.

There are two types of innovation. One that improves existing products with new novel features. The other takes huge leaps into uncharted territory. Smart TVs being the former, the iPhone being the latter.

But these huge leaps are almost always created by a certain ‘type’ of personality. I’m not one for fitting people into boxes. However, a look back at history’s biggest leaps in technology show that these don’t come from ‘normal’ people. Apple probably summed it up best with their slogan ‘think different’.

Who will be the next innovator to take us on a path we never imagined?

Back to the everyday

Whatever the future of Apple, and it’s relationship with Amazon, now at least I don’t have to stream from my phone’s app anymore. And applause.