If you wanted to watch the trailer for Natalie Portman’s upcoming sci-fi movie Annihilation, you would probably go to YouTube. You might even ask Alexa to pull it up on your Buy Now . But not so fast — Google and Amazon aren’t playing together, as playing YouTube videos on the Echo Show apparently violates Google’s terms of service. Despite a recent workaround that allowed Echo Show users to continue accessing YouTube by going to the web browser, it looks like Google is now pulling its video service for good. And more importantly, the platform is also disappearing from Amazon’s Fire TV.
“We’ve been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other’s products and services. But Amazon doesn’t carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn’t make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest’s latest products,” a YouTube spokesperson said. “Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon.”
Starting Tuesday, December 5, YouTube will no longer be supported on the Echo Show. Folks who own Fire TVs will also begin seeing a notification alerting them to the fact that YouTube will no longer be available beginning January 1, 2018. If you do ask Alexa to show a YouTube video, she snippily replies, “Currently, Google is not supporting YouTube on Echo Show.”
Previously, an Amazon statement to The Verge claimed that Google made the change “without explanation and without notification to customers.” Google responded, “We’ve been in negotiations with Amazon for a long time, working towards an agreement that provides great experiences for customers on both platforms. Amazon’s implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show violates our terms of service, creating a broken user experience.”
Considering videos are supposed to be the big draw of the Echo Show, this is quite a blow to Amazon and to device owners. The company touted it as a great fit for kitchen counters, where users could watch a video on the proper way to clean tomatillos as they are making a new recipe. There are still apps like the one from Food Network with videos, but they don’t have the amount and variety that YouTube does.
This isn’t the first time Google has blocked a device from accessing YouTube. In 2013, Windows Phone users found out they were unable to watch the site’s videos. When Microsoft re-released the app, it had a different design and ads, both in response to Google’s complaints.
There’s quite a history of bad blood between Amazon and Google. As YouTube noted in its most recent statement, the Google Chromecast wasn’t always available on Amazon, and Amazon Video wasn’t supported on the Google’s Android TV platform. And in fact, when the Fire TV first made its debut, it did so without YouTube support. In many ways, this simply marks the latest in a lengthy saga, and the folks really suffering from the dispute are … well, us. Hopefully, the two companies can reach an agreement soon. In the meantime, there are still some useful things you can do with your Show, like see your calendar or read a book.
Update: Google officially pulls YouTube from the Amazon Echo Show and Fire TV.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.
With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.