Amazon is warning customers that its Appstore will no longer work on Android devices after August 20th, 2025. Fire Tablets and Fire TVs are not impacted by this change, though the move away from Android may be reflected in these first-party devices at some point.
Amazon launched its Android Appstore in March 2011. And, believe it or not, this alternative app store was once a genuine Google Play competitor. The Amazon Appstore offered a couple of exclusive games, it ran “free app of the week” campaigns, and it came preinstalled on some smartphones—you know, carrier bloat.
The introduction of the original Kindle Fire tablet in September 2011 (a few months after the Amazon App Store’s launch) further encouraged Amazon Appstore adoption on smartphones. Of course, this is due to the fact that Fire Tablets cannot run Google Play (not without sideloading, at least). If you buy an app on Google Play, you can’t access that app on your Fire Tablet. You have to buy the app again. So, some people opt to do all of their purchases in the Amazon App Store, as these purchases can be accessed on all platforms at no additional charge.
Third-party app stores started losing steam around the late 2010s. And the oft-forgotten Fire Phone—a massive failure—forced Amazon to rethink its approach to Android. The company stopped taking major risks in this area and decided to focus on its bread and butter. It’s an understandable choice. Why rock the boat when you already own the world’s most successful Android tablet brand?
“Starting August 20, 2025, any apps downloaded from the Amazon Appstore will not be guaranteed to operate on Android devices … We will also be discontinuing the Amazon Coins program on August 20, 2025.”
The Amazon App Store is more niche than ever before, but it still holds some value. Fire Tablet diehards can use the Amazon App Store to download paid apps or games on their Android phones. And if you own an Android-based device that doesn’t support Google Play, such as the Oculus Quest, sideloading the Amazon App Store greatly increases the number of apps that are available to you.
The Amazon Appstore will continue to work on Fire Tablet and Fire TV, meaning that it may be possible to rip the Amazon Appstore APK from a Fire Tablet and sideload it to a third-party Android device. But I’m not sure whether this will work in practice. If the Amazon Appstore on Fire Tablet is protected by DRM, for example, sideloading may become a challenge.
I should point out that Amazon is currently developing an in-house operating system. This OS is already on some Amazon Echo Show smart displays, and rumors suggest that it may replace Android on Fire Tablets at some point. If that’s the case, then the Amazon Appstore is on its way out. I’m not sure that I believe this theory, but it could explain why the Amazon Appstore is leaving Android and Windows 11. If this is the first time you’ve heard about Amazon Appstore on Windows 11, that’s understandable, Microsoft kinda flubbed it.
Related
How to Install the Google Play Store on an Amazon Fire Tablet
You’re not stuck with the Amazon App Store.
In lesser news, Amazon is also killing its Amazon Coins program. The company refers to Coins as a “digital currency,” but Coins are really just a gift card balance. Even if you’ve never bought Amazon Coins, you may have received some for free when buying a Fire TV or other Amazon device, so I suggest that longtime Fire customers log into the Amazon Appstore to check their balance. Any Coins that you fail to spend will be “refunded” on August 20th, though Amazon hasn’t clarified how it will refund promotional Coins. The company simply states that “addtional details concerning refunds will be shared at a later date.” (That’s Amazon’s typo, not mine.)
For additional information on the Amazon Appstore for Android shutdown, I suggest that you check the Amazon FAQ. This is also where you’ll find the Amazon Appstore APK, which appears to have been removed from traditional distribution channels.
