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Comment by robalfonso | Hacker News Reader

My concern is the apps that are approved for this device and the speed at which it occurs.

I've bought into the whole eco system in terms of hardware: macbook, Apple tv, iphones, ipads etc. But I don't really care for apple radio, itunes music, or itunes video. I use netflix and amazon and spotify. So my concern is that those apps will be quickly available without any slow down or blocking by Apple. I also like to stream local content which I can do easily with my ipad. I think as long as I can get the same selection of apps I get for ios I'll be happy, but I've seen apple make arbitrary choices before.

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Amazon doesn't support the current Apple TV or Google's Chromecast, so I doubt they'll support the new Apple TV either. Maybe they think this is an effective way to get people to buy a Fire TV or Fire TV Stick.

The way Amazon has tried to edge itself in is by supplying custom content, both in TV and games. Netflix has kept its edge with content, HBO has kept it's edge with content. Whether you like Amazon's content is up for debate, but what's not up for debate is Apple is behind in this regard.

Going into content would be a terrible mistake for Apple. It would set them up as a competitor against the very services they rely on to make the Apple TV competitive. As a neutral party, they can provide an attractive platform for Netflix, HBO, etc services.

Sony made the mistake of getting into content decades ago. Their aim was to deliver content to their device businesses, but it made them the enemy instead of an ally of every other music, TV and film company on the planet. Apple had an exclusive with HBO Go last year. That would never have happened if Apple had their own TV service.

I don't think so. Amazon has always been about being everywhere, no matter what devices you use. So I'd be surprised if Amazon doesn't release a (Prime) Video app soon. And it should be ok for Apple too, since they allow an equivalent app on iOS.

I don't think that's true when it comes to video. Amazon only recently released an android app for Instant Video. They didn't put it on the Google Play store though. You have to enable installation of untrusted apps, download the apk for the Amazon Appstore, install it, then install the Instant Video app from Amazon's Appstore.

They do support Roku though, so that probably says more about Google and Apple than Amazon.

    > Amazon doesn't support the current Apple TV

Not directly, but last I checked I could beam video from the Amazon store from my iPhone to my Apple TV.

> My concern is the apps that are approved for this device and the speed at which it occurs.

Microsoft and Sony have much longer and more arduous processes to get distribution on their consoles, so I doubt this will be a significant problem. I think a greater risk would be a loose policy allowing sub-standard apps and games getting on to the platform and giving it a bad reputation.

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