One of Google Play Store’s Biggest Competitors Is Dying

Amazon has announced that it will shut down its Android App Store on August 20, 2025. This marks the end of Amazon’s efforts to compete in the Android app market, which the Google Play Store largely leads. Amazon Coins, its in-app currency, will also be discontinued on the same day.

Users who currently use the Amazon App Store on their Android devices will lose access after August 20. Although the app can still be downloaded until that date, there is no guarantee that any apps downloaded from the store will work afterward. This situation gives users a brief period to switch to other app sources or risk losing access to their apps.

Amazon’s decision likely comes from its struggle to compete with the popularity of the Google Play Store. The Amazon Appstore required users to manually install it, which limited its adoption compared to Google’s version. The failure of the Appstore on Windows 11, which will also be discontinued on March 5, highlights the challenges Amazon faced in gaining a substantial foothold outside of its own ecosystem. Amazon pointed out that Android apps on Windows PCs never provided a good experience compared to native or web applications.

Current Amazon Coins users will receive refunds for any remaining balance after August 20, although details about how this process will work are yet to be announced. Though purchasing new Amazon Coins is no longer possible, users can still use their current balance for app purchases but can’t combine it with other payment methods.

Despite ending the Android Appstore, Amazon’s app ecosystem will still exist on its Fire TV and Fire Tablet devices. There is a possibility that users might try to sideload the Amazon Appstore APK from a Fire device to their Android phones or tablets after the shutdown, but it’s uncertain if this will work, especially if the Fire OS version includes protections against this.

Looking ahead, this shutdown may indicate a shift in Amazon’s strategy. There are rumors that Amazon is creating its own operating system, which is already in use on some Echo Show devices. If Amazon replaces Android with this new OS on its Fire Tablets, it could explain why the Android App Store is closing. While this is still speculation, the shutdown of both the Android Appstore and the Appstore on Windows 11 suggests that Amazon is focusing its app distribution efforts within its own environment.

The company seems to be concentrating on its strengths in the Fire device market. This is instead of continuing to compete against more established players.