Amazon’s made it a little harder to buy Kindle books on Android

It felt like a hack because for a long time, you could buy a book on the Amazon app on anANDROID device when you couldn't do the same thing on anios one. Ars Technica noted that the unique relationship had ended. When you try to purchase a book on the Amazon app on your phone, you are directed to a new screen explaining why the purchasing option is no longer available. If you update the app, you'll see a similar note as to what you see on the device that says purchasing digital products on the app is unavailable.

The support for digital book buying on the iPad was pulled by Amazon in 2011. The goal was to avoid the App Store taxes on digital goods. After Amazon acquired it, Comixology lost its ability. It is a deeply annoying byproduct of the Apple App Store. If you hit the button to buy a book, you will be taken to the Amazon app. You have to go back to the browser and buy the book on Amazon. It's not impossible, but it's frustrating.

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It felt like you were getting away with something when buying content on an Android device. The expectation was that apps would use the billing system of the company, but it was rarely enforced. Those of us who spend a lot of time buying digital books on our devices were attracted to the idea of using Android. I went out and bought an E Ink device because I was excited to not have to go through the hoops I had to go through on the other platform.

The developers are skirting around the rules. On June 1st, the company said it would remove apps that didn't comply with its rules. This is the reason why Barnes & Noble ended support for buying digital books via its app on April 4th, 2022, and why Amazon ended support for buying Audible audiobooks via its app on April 1st, 2022.

The pilot program was announced in March. The pilot program does not include Amazon. The pilot program is likely due to the legal battle between the two companies. The billing system crackdown doesn't help the case of Google, but it does help the case of partners being treated differently by the company. Even if it makes the user experience worse, it is still treating everyone the same.