Amazon's Echo Show smart home speaker was dealt a major blow in September when Google removed the device's ability to play videos from YouTube. Now, it looks as though the matter has been resolved.
Amazon claimed the move came as a total surprise and was unwarranted. Google, meanwhile, said it had been in negotiations with Amazon for a "long time" with regard to poor app design. Amazon's implementation was so bad, Google claimed, that it violated their terms of service and created a broken user experience.
Some speculated that the move may be strategic considering Google is reportedly developing its own hardware device to compete with the Echo Show.
Whatever the case, Amazon responded by slashing $30 off the cost of the device, temporarily bringing it down from $230 to just $200 (it eventually went back up to its original price).
On Tuesday, Voicebot reported that YouTube had returned to the Echo Show. A spokesperson for Amazon provided the publication with the following statement on the matter:
"We're excited to offer customers the capability to watch even more video content from sources such as Vimeo, YouTube, and Dailymotion on Echo Show. More video sources will be added over time."
Photos provided by the site show a YouTube app that looks much better than it once did, now mimicking what you might find on the desktop versus a generic "mobile" experience. This is great news for existing Echo Show owners and those that might be eyeballing one for the holidays. It's also good to see that Google didn't totally blacklist Amazon as some probably suspected.
If you're looking to pick up an Echo Show this year, you'll likely want to swing by Best Buy as they're offering $50 off the cost of the device during their Black Friday sale. That brings the cost down to just $179.99