Amazon Prime Video to launch on Apple TV

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Amazon Prime Video is due to launch on Apple TV “later this year,” Apple CEO Tim Cook announced at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

Speaking onstage yesterday at the event in San Jose, California, Cook said that Amazon will join the content line-up of its new TV app, which it unveiled in October.

The app is designed to offer a ‘unified experience’ for discovering and accessing TV shows and movies from multiple apps on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad – but launched last year with the notable absences of Netflix and Amazon.

“We launched it with support from a handful of video channels, but now we have 50 partners integrated into the TV app,” said Cook against a backdrop of partner logos that included Hulu, HBO Now, Crackle, Filmstruck, Mubi, Discovery Go, Fox Now and PBS.

“Today we’re really thrilled to announce that Amazon is coming to the TV app and all Apple TVs later this year with Amazon Prime Video.”

The news marked Apple’s main piece of tvOS-related news at WWDC. “You’ll be hearing a lot more about tvOS later this year,” said Cook.

However, the tech press also reported that the first beta version of tvOS 11 is now available for developers to test – even though this wasn’t formally announced onstage.

Apple did use WWDC to preview iOS 11, which is due to launch for iPhone and iPad this autumn. It hailed this as a “major update” to the operating system that includes multi-tasking features and a Files app to make it easier to organise content.

According to a Bloomberg report published in February, Apple is testing a fifth generation version of Apple TV that will support ultra high definition content and could be released as early as this year.