Prime Video

Review by eFreeware

If you already watch Amazon's shows, or you want one Android app that covers films, series, live programming and sports, Prime Video is the obvious place to start. It is free to install and has been downloaded more than 500 million times, which tells you how many people treat it as a default rather than a niche extra.

The pitch is breadth. The catalog runs from Amazon MGM Studios productions such as Road House, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Fallout, Reacher, The Boys and The Idea of You through to whatever else is streaming at the time, and the app mixes films, television, live channels and sport in the same interface. For a household that wants one app instead of four, that spread is the main draw.

What I like about the shape of it is that it does not assume you will only watch on the phone. Downloads, casting and profiles are all here, so the same account can follow you from a phone to a television without much friction.

Films, series and originals in one catalog

The core of the app is browsing. You can search for a title by name, scroll through what is available, or let the app suggest things based on what you have watched before. The recommendations are the part most people will lean on, because a catalog this size is hard to scan manually.

Amazon's own productions sit alongside everything else, and the titles the developer highlights are the ones the service is built around. If you follow those series, having them in the same app as the rest of your viewing is convenient. If you mainly want live sport and channels, that side is covered too, which is unusual for an app that started as an on-demand storefront.

For anyone who watches a lot and does not want to think too hard about what to put on, the combination of a large catalog and automatic suggestions is the practical benefit. You open the app, something is already waiting, and you are watching within a minute or two.

Downloads, casting and watching away from home

Downloading is the feature I would point to first for anyone who travels or commutes without reliable signal. The app lets you save videos and watch them later, and downloads can go over Wi-Fi or a cellular network, so you are not restricted to doing it at home before you leave.

Casting is the other half of that story. You can send what you are watching from a phone or tablet to a television using Chromecast or FireTV, which makes the phone a controller rather than the screen. That is a sensible arrangement for a household where the living room television is the main display and the phone is what is closest to hand.

Between the two, the app covers the two situations that matter most: watching something on the move, and watching something on a bigger screen once you are back.

Renting, buying and profiles for a household

Not everything is included with a subscription. The app lets you rent or buy newer films and popular series, and the developer notes that what is available to rent or buy varies by marketplace. That is worth keeping in mind if you are outside the United States, because the storefront you see will not necessarily match what someone else sees.

Multiple profiles are the feature that makes the app workable for more than one person. Each profile gets its own recommendations, so a household does not end up with a single home screen pulled in five directions at once. If you share an account with family members, setting up separate profiles early saves a lot of scrolling later.

There is also X-Ray, which the developer describes as exclusive access to behind-the-scenes material for films and shows, powered by IMDb. It is the kind of extra that suits viewers who like cast details and production trivia while they watch, rather than treating the app as a plain player.

What you need before you start

Prime Video installs for free on Android and has been available since August 2017, with the most recent update in October 2026. The app contains ads and offers in-app purchases, so the free download is not the whole picture of what you might spend.

Downloads need either Wi-Fi or cellular data, which is a consideration if you are on a limited plan.

The service is available in more than 200 countries and territories. That is a wide reach, though the rent-and-buy catalog varies by marketplace, so the experience is not identical everywhere.

Who gets the most from it

This app makes the most sense for people who already watch Amazon's originals or who want a single place for films, series, live programming and sports. The breadth is the argument: rather than juggling several apps for different kinds of viewing, you get one library and one set of recommendations.

It also suits households. Multiple profiles, casting and downloads together mean one account can serve a phone, a tablet and a living room television without everyone fighting over the same home screen. If you share a subscription with family, that structure is the reason to use the app.

Travelers and commuters get a lot out of the download feature, particularly now that it works over cellular as well as Wi-Fi. And if you like knowing who is on screen and how a scene was made, X-Ray adds a layer that a plain streaming player does not.

The trade-offs are the ones you would expect from a large commercial service. There are ads, there are in-app purchases, and the rent-or-buy selection depends on where you are. None of that is hidden, but it is part of the deal.

A broad streaming app that earns its space

The catalog is large, the Amazon originals are the centerpiece, and the extras like X-Ray give it more character than a bare player.

The caveats are real but manageable. If you mostly want free viewing of a narrow set of titles, this is a bigger service than you need.

For everyone else, particularly households and people who watch on the move, it is a sensible install. A 4.7 average across more than five million ratings suggests a lot of people have reached the same conclusion.

What's new

Enjoy Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories around the globe! Download movies and TV shows using Wi-Fi or cellular networks.