Amazon is Down on Fire TV Universal Guide Apps

It looks like Amazon is taking a shot at taking down its competition. Consumers have noted that with the recent Fire TV update that Amazon has effectively crippled the universal guide apps used by some of their competitors.

What Were Universal Guide Apps

Universal guide apps were a great tool for streaming platforms. These apps would allow customers to go to a single place and track what was on TV, a la the traditional TV guide. Customers could see what shows were on at a certain time, or what was on next, making it much easier to find something to watch.

The Recent Change

The recent Fire TV update changed the way the Universal Guide apps interacted with the TV. This basically means that customers can’t easily access all of the programs being shown on their Fire TV. This makes it much harder for customers to find something to watch, as they have to go to each individual streaming service, rather than one unified app.

Amazon’s Plot?

This change seems to be a great benefit for Amazon, as customers are now more likely to have to go to and use Amazon’s own apps, as it is the only place where they can easily find all of the shows being shown on the Amazon Fire TV.

It looks like Amazon is engaging in a bit of corporate guerilla warfare. While this might hurt the competition, it could end up costing customers who want an easier way to find something to watch.

What You Can Do

If you’re an Amazon customer, then you may want to consider speaking up. Express your opinion that you think having universal guide apps is beneficial, and that you’d like to have them back.

You can also shop around for other TV boxes. If you’re eyeing a more open platform, then you can install universal guide apps for free, or for a very low cost. Here is a quick breakdown of some of the options:

• Apple TV: Supports universal guide apps.
• Android TV (Google): Supports universal guide apps.
• Roku: Supports universal guide apps.
• Microsoft Xbox One: Supports universal guide apps.

In Conclusion

It’s not surprising that Amazon would want to shoot down the competition, but this could end up being a bad move for customers. Having access to a universal guide app, so that you could easily find something to watch, was a great tool. Hopefully Amazon will listen to their customers and restore this functionality – but in the meantime, maybe it’s time to look at the other options.