Amazon Says YouTube Services Removed From Echo Show Unexplained; Google Disagrees
Amazon has recently confirmed that Google is keeping all YouTube-related services from being accessed through the Echo Show and claimed it was done without any explanation. However, the latter responded by saying they had reason to do so and implied Amazon knew it.
The Echo Show, which was launched in May, is Amazon's first-ever touchscreen-clad smart speaker and is also powered by the company's artificially intelligent assistant Alexa.
With the addition of the touchscreen, its users can start asking Alexa to video call someone or search for a video online and view it from there. However, access to the largest video streaming platform, YouTube, has been removed from the Echo Show recently.
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Earlier this week, users were surprised when they tried to open YouTube through the Echo Show and Alexa respondid (via The Verge) with: "Currently, Google is not supporting YouTube on Echo Show."
Amazon confirmed the news and provided the statement on the same report: "Google made a change [on Sept. 26] at around 3 pm. YouTube used to be available to our shared customers on Echo Show."
"As of this afternoon, Google has chosen to no longer make YouTube available on Echo Show, without explanation and without notification to customers. There is no technical reason for that decision, which is disappointing and hurts both of our customers," Amazon added.
On the other hand, Google disagreed with Amazon's claims that YouTube was removed from the Echo Show unexplained.
"We've been in negotiations with Amazon for a long time, working towards an agreement that provides great experiences for customers on both platforms," Google said. The company added that Echo Show's access to YouTube "violates our terms of service" which results to a "broken user experience."
Meanwhile, Google maintained they were still open to negotiate with Amazon to "reach an agreement" that will bring YouTube access back to the Echo Show.
Amazon's Echo Show was evidently the first of its kind in the market – a voice-activated AI assistant complete with a 7-inch touchscreen. Considering that Google is also venturing in the smart speaker business, this could be viewed as a move to take the upper hand in a competition.
However, it is also important to note that in the past, Google was very strict with how third-party manufacturers deliver YouTube services to the consumers and creators. In the previous years, the company blocked YouTube services when third-party providers did not comply with some of their requirements, for example, browser upgrades.
In 2013, Google removed the YouTube app from Windows Phones. An array of Apple TV models in 2015 and Samsung TVs in 2016 lost access to the YouTube app as well.
