If the Amazon Appstore falls in the forest, but no one was using it anyway, does it make a sound? I guess we’ll find out in August 2025, when Amazon pulls the plug on its Appstore for Android devices.
Amazon Is Discontinuing Its Appstore for Android
Android users will no longer have access to the Amazon Appstore starting on August 20, 2025. After that, you won’t be able to download new apps or update any existing apps from the Amazon Appstore on Android.
While you might be able to hang on to existing Amazon Appstore apps on your Android device beyond the August deadline, Amazon doesn’t guarantee that they’ll continue to operate. Plus, given the security risks of having zombie apps on your phone, it’s probably best to plan on deleting the apps right away.
Along with the store, Amazon will also abandon the Amazon Coins program. Amazon Coins were previously “used to make purchases on certain apps and in-app purchases,” according to Amazon’s FAQ. As of February 20, 2025, you can no longer purchase new coins, and you have until August 20 to spend what’s left in your balance. If you don’t use them up by August, Amazon says they’ll be refunded, but details on how that works “will be shared at a later date.”
To be clear, this doesn’t change anything for Amazon devices, such as Fire TV and Fire Tablets. Such devices will continue to have access to the Amazon Appstore.
Is Amazon Appstore a Loss for Android Users?
You might be wondering why this really matters, when the Google Play Store is objectively the go-to for apps on Android devices. While the Amazon Appstore has been considered one of the decent alternatives to the Google Play Store for Android apps, it doesn’t necessarily offer much that Google Play doesn’t.
As referenced in this comparison of the Google Play Store vs. the Amazon Appstore, Google’s store had over 3.5 million apps in 2022, whereas Amazon had just over 480,000. Granted, the Amazon Appstore has grown somewhat since then, with over 530,000 apps at the end of 2024’s second quarter, according to Statista.
The only real justification for having the Amazon Appstore on your Android was simply to have some kind of backup to Google Play, in case any app developers had beef with Google. You might recall the Fortnite feuds of the 2020s, when game developer Epic Games sued Google because of its app store monopoly, pulling the popular Fortnite game from the Google Play Store as a result.
What this means is, if you’re an Android user, you’ll be stuck with Google’s app offerings—for the most part. If Google continues to make companies like Epic Games angry, you could miss out on some exciting new games or other products. However, there are typically ways to get access to such exclusive apps, from mobile web apps to cloud gaming services.
At any rate, it’s clear that Amazon is doing a thorough sweep of its clutter, from eliminating its unpopular TikTok-style platform to shuttering its Zoom-like meeting app. If Amazon is this confident in clearing out the old, I certainly hope that what’s new is impressive.
