If you own an Amazon Echo Show, you'll be glad to know that the company has added a browser to its smart-speaker-with-a-screen. That means you can access YouTube once again, after over a year of being unable to do so.
Just a little more than a year ago, Google and Amazon found themselves in the middle of a nasty bout as the search giant pulled YouTube access from Amazon's Echo Show. The company cited 'a broken user experience' as the reasoning behind the move. Amazon quickly responded by fixing the problem, and directing users of the Echo Show to a web version of YouTube that complied with Google's policies.
Telling of Google's true intentions behind the move, Google retaliated by officially ending support for FireTV and Echo Show devices, finally revealing what motivated the whole episode in a new statement. Referring to Amazon's decision to not carry Google products and its barring Prime Video on Chromecast, the firm said, "Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon.”
A year later, Amazon has finally found another workaround, by adding a browser to the Echo Show. This means users who ask for YouTube content will now be directed to choose between the Firefox or Silk browsers, and taken to a mobile version of YouTube. Unfortunately, since this is a mobile browser, it does mean you can't interact with it using just voice, and need to navigate the site using the touch screen. The upside is that the change will make it even harder for Google to block YouTube again.
Despite Amazon extending an olive branch to Google last year, the ban on YouTube remained and Amazon had to resort to using a similar workaround on the FireTV. Thankfully, that same workaround is now available on the Echo Show.
Source: VoiceBot
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