Amazon's Prime Video iOS app finally lets you purchase TV shows and movies

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Rent or buy titles from a huge library, including in-cinema flicks

(Image credit: Amazon)

Apple and Amazon seem to have made nice, with the Prime Video app on iOS, iPadOS and tvOS now supporting in-app purchases. Apple device users, be it an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV, will now be able to rent or purchase anything from the Prime Video library directly from the app.

Previously, to skirt around Apple's exorbitant 30% cut on in-app purchases, Amazon would direct customers away from the app – i.e. take them to a browser page – whenever they wanted to get something from the Prime Video content store. 

Many app makers, like Spotify, offset that high fee by increasing the cost of subscriptions or purchases, although it seems Amazon hasn't raised the price of its Prime Video offerings. Instead, as per a statement issued by Apple, the e-commerce giant is taking advantage of "an established program for premium video subscription providers to offer a variety of consumer benefits".

Amazon, however, has not made any announcements, but the update has begun rolling out and Apple users logging into the Prime Video app can see a banner advertising the change on the homepage.

Spending pattern

The updated Prime Video app now includes a new Store tab from where Apple users can either rent or purchase content, including in-cinema and early digital releases of movies like Pixar's Onward.

It appears that Apple has allowed Amazon to bill customers directly using the payment method that has been saved to an Amazon account.

The updated app doesn't seem to be available globally... at least not yet. TechRadar's Australian team were unable to see the changes, while TechCrunch has been told that the in-app purchases are currently available only in the US, UK and Germany. We're hoping the changes will be rolled out to other markets in the coming weeks.

Whether the deal the two companies have reached flows both ways is as yet uncertain, with the Apple TV app on Amazon's Fire TV platform still not supporting in-app purchases.

[Via The Verge]

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Sharmishta Sarkar
Sharmishta Sarkar
Managing Editor (APAC)

While she's happiest with a camera in her hand, Sharmishta's main priority is being TechRadar's APAC Managing Editor, looking after the day-to-day functioning of the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore editions of the site, steering everything from news and reviews to ecommerce content like deals and coupon codes. While she loves reviewing cameras and lenses when she can, she's also an avid reader and has become quite the expert on ereaders and E Ink writing tablets, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about these underrated devices. Other than her duties at TechRadar, she's also the Managing Editor of the Australian edition of Digital Camera World, and writes for Tom's Guide and T3.