Why You Can Trust CNET YouTube app now on Fire TV; Amazon Prime Video arrives on Google Chromecast
Amazon Fire TV users now have an official YouTube app and can use Alexa to search for cute kitten videos, while Prime Video is finally compatible with Chromecast.
- Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
- Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Fire TV gets an official YouTube app, complete with Alexa integration and the real YouTube logo, instead of this weird blue tile that leads to YouTube's web site.
Google has announced that YouTube , YouTube TV and YouTube Kids apps are now available on Amazon's Fire TV streamers and TVs worldwide, after 18 months of hostility and user workarounds.
The companies announced the truce back in April, which also includes the ability for Amazon Prime Video apps to connect to Google Chromecast streamers and Android TV from today.
The official YouTube app also works with the Alexa voice assistant, allowing users to request YouTube content on the Fire TV. However, Google Assistant will not work with Amazon Prime Video on Chromecast "at launch", a Google representative confirmed.
In 2018 Google pulled YouTube from Fire TV devices in retaliation for Amazon's stopping sales of Google's Chromecast devices on its web site. Things have changed since then; the newest Chromecast has been on sale at Amazon since soon after its fall 2018 launch.
A Google representative told CNET that smart TVs are the most popular device for watching YouTube in the living room, followed by streaming devices (e.g., Chromecast, Fire TV Stick) and gaming consoles like the PlayStation 4.
The latest upgrades help Fire TV and Chromecast better compete against the likes of Roku, Apple TV and most smart TV systems, which have long had both YouTube and Prime Video apps.
Despite lacking an official YouTube app, Fire TV customers have always been able to access YouTube.com via a browser (below). Meanwhile cord cutter live TV service YouTube TV hasn't been available to Fire TV users at all. The companies did not announce a YouTube app for the Amazon Echo Show, which also currently requires a browser workaround.
Currently Fire TV users get YouTube via a browser.
Meanwhile Chromecast users previously lacked access to Amazon's Prime Video apps from phones and tablets as they lacked the little Cast icon at the top, something present on just about every other video app including Netflix, Hulu , HBO Now and thousands of others.
Many devices on the Android TV platform, including the Nvidia Shield and Sony TVs, have Prime Video apps already, but Google says the app will be available on every device that runs Android TV soon. Vizio TVs with Chromecast built-in also already have Prime Video access.