- Amazon and Best Buy are partnering to offer "Fire Edition" TVs with Amazon's Fire operating system built-in that can run numerous streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu.
- The TVs will first come from Toshiba and Insignia, and they'll essentially have an Amazon Fire streaming device built-in.
- But Amazon's "Fire Edition" TVs aren't likely to come with Google's YouTube app due to an ongoing corporate disagreement.
- Meanwhile, TCL's Roku TV with Roku's operating system built-in still runs the YouTube app.
Amazon announced on Wednesday that it's partnering with Best Buy to sell smart TVs running on Amazon's Fire TV operating system starting this summer.
The partnership includes 4K and full-HD 1080p TVs from Toshiba and Insignia, and they will have Fire TV Edition branding. Those TVs will essentially have Amazon Fire streaming devices built-in that can run the same numerous streaming apps from Amazon's Fire streaming devices.
You'll also be able to use Amazon's Alexa smart voice assistant on Fire TV Edition models through the included remote to find movies and TV shows, and even control smart home devices.
It's a similar concept as TCL's Roku TV where a TV made by TCL runs on the Roku operating system and runs the same apps as Roku streaming devices.
Unlike TCL's Roku TV, however, it doesn't seem likely that Fire Edition TVs will come with the YouTube app, which is one of the most popular streaming services on any platform.
You can gauge YouTube's popularity with the fact that YouTube was the most popular streaming app on Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store as of September 2017, besting the streaming giant Netflix in active monthly users (MAU), time spent in app, and revenue generated.
That's all because of a petty fight between Google and Amazon. Google pulled the YouTube app from Amazon Fire streaming devices on January 1 because Amazon doesn't sell Google's Home smart speakers and Chromecast streaming devices on its store. The biggest victim in this corporate tiff is Amazon and its customers who use Fire streaming devices and like to watch YouTube videos.
Business Insider has contacted both Google and Amazon to confirm that the YouTube app is still unavailable on Amazon Fire streaming devices – and if it'll specifically feature on Fire Edition TVs – but neither company responded at the time of publication.
A look at the apps available on Fire streaming devices on Amazons website doesn't show the YouTube app, so it seems like Google's YouTube ban is still in effect.
Unless Google and Amazon resolve their differences between now and summer when Fire Edition TVs become available, there's no telling when – or if – the YouTube app will ever return to Amazon Fire streaming devices, or if it'll feature in Fire Edition TVs.
