Days before it was slated to do so, Google has deactivated the YouTube app on Amazon Fire TV devices.
While YouTube had already been pulled from the Echo Show in response to the fact that Amazon doesn’t stock Google hardware products — including the Chromecast, Google Home, and Nest items — the YouTube app wasn’t supposed to be removed from Fire TVs until Jan. 1. Fast Company reports, however, that the deed has been done four days earlier than expected. An error message when loading the YouTube app on Fire TV instructs users to install the Silk or Firefox web browsers, whereupon they can access the video platform on the web.
The premature deletion arrives as it seemed the two companies were on the brink of reaching an agreement of sorts. Amazon said earlier this month that it would resume Chromecast sales after two years, and Google subsequently stated that the companies were in the midst of “productive discussions.” Apparently not productive enough just yet.
