Amazon to Shut Down Android App Store, Ending a Decade-Long Experiment

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it will shutter its Amazon Appstore for Android devices effective August 20, 2025, marking the end of a 14-year effort to challenge Google’s dominance in the mobile app ecosystem. The decision, detailed in a notice to developers and a support page update, also includes the discontinuation of Amazon Coins, the digital currency used for in-app purchases and game downloads within the store. The move signals a strategic retreat as Amazon refocuses on its proprietary hardware ecosystem, including Fire TV and Fire Tablets.

The company informed developers that, as of August 20, they will no longer be able to submit new apps to the Android version of the Appstore. Existing apps will remain available for download until that date, after which the store will cease operations on non-Amazon Android devices. “Starting August 20, 2025, you will no longer have access to the Amazon Appstore on your Android device. We will also be discontinuing the Amazon Coins program on August 20, 2025,” the support page stated. Amazon pledged to refund any unused Coins held by users as of the cutoff date, though it did not specify the refund process.

A company spokesperson explained the rationale behind the closure: “We’ve decided to discontinue the Amazon Appstore on Android to focus our efforts on the Appstore experience on our own devices, as that’s where the overwhelming majority of our customers currently engage with it.” The spokesperson noted that only a “small number” of users accessed the Appstore on non-Amazon Android devices, suggesting limited market traction outside its ecosystem. The Appstore will remain operational on Amazon’s Fire TV, Fire Tablets, and other branded hardware, where it serves as the primary app distribution platform.

Launched in 2011, the Amazon Appstore was positioned as a competitor to Google’s Play Store, offering an alternative for Android users and developers frustrated by Google’s policies. It gained some early attention with perks like a daily free app promotion, but struggled to match the Play Store’s scale or developer support. Amazon’s ambitions peaked with the 2014 Fire Phone, a short-lived smartphone that relied heavily on the Appstore for its app ecosystem. The device flopped, and the Appstore’s broader Android strategy never fully recovered.

The decision follows other recent retreats. Last year, Amazon confirmed it would end support for the Appstore on Windows 11, a program launched in 2021 that allowed Windows users to run Android apps via an Amazon-powered subsystem. That service will terminate on March 5, 2025, further narrowing the Appstore’s reach beyond Amazon’s hardware.

Security concerns may have also factored into the decision. In 2024, McAfee Labs researchers uncovered malware disguised as a health app within the Amazon Appstore, raising questions about its vetting processes. While Amazon addressed the issue, such incidents underscored the challenges of maintaining a third-party app store in an era of heightened cybersecurity threats.

Industry analysts see the closure as a pragmatic pivot. “Amazon’s Appstore never gained critical mass outside its own devices,” said Sarah Hensley, a tech analyst at Gartner. “Competing with Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store is a Herculean task, and Amazon’s real strength lies in its integrated ecosystem—Fire TVs, Tablets, and Alexa devices—where it controls the user experience end-to-end.”

For developers, the shutdown limits one revenue stream, though the impact may be minimal given the Appstore’s niche Android presence. Users, meanwhile, will lose access to a platform that offered occasional exclusives but lacked the breadth of Google’s offerings. Refunds for Amazon Coins provide some consolation, though the currency’s discontinuation ends a quirky chapter of Amazon’s digital experiment.

As Amazon refocuses on its hardware-centric Appstore, the move underscores a broader trend: the difficulty of disrupting the Google-Apple duopoly in mobile app distribution. For now, Android users outside Amazon’s ecosystem will need to turn elsewhere—likely the Play Store—while Amazon doubles down on its walled garden, betting that its Fire-branded future holds the key to app success.

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