Google has removed YouTube from Amazon’s Echo Show devices, a move that Amazon has called “disappointing.”
The devices, which launched in May, built on Amazon’s Echo smart speakers by adding a touch screen. The official announcement of the Echo Show at the time specifically promised access to YouTube, but recently users have been played an error message when trying to access YouTube videos via the device.
“Google made a change today at around 3 pm,” Amazon said in a statement to The Verge on Tuesday. “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.”
Google issued a statement in response, saying that it was in “negotiations” with Amazon over the implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show.
“We’ve been in negotiations with Amazon for a long time, working towards an agreement that provides great experiences for customers on both platforms,” the company said. “Amazon’s implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show violates our terms of service, creating a broken user experience. We hope to be able to reach an agreement and resolve these issues soon.”