Amazon is once again selling Google’s Chromecast streaming adapter, three years after yanking the product from its website. The e-commerce giant began listing the 3rd-generation model of Google’s Chromecast streaming stick, as well as the 4K-capable Chromecast Ultra, on its website this week. The move could be a first step towards a more comprehensive business agreement between the two companies.
Amazon stopped selling Google’s Chromecast devices in late 2015, and at the time justified the move with the argument that Amazon’s own video services weren’t available on Chromecast. Google charged that this was Amazon’s fault, and that the company easily could have added cast capabilities to its apps if it wanted to. The two companies also disagreed on a host of other issues, including Amazon’s use of Android, and Google’s unwillingness to bring its own apps to Amazon’s Fire tablets.
The conflict gained some additional urgency when Amazon released its Echo Show smart display device in 2017. The device initially featured a customized YouTube integration, which Google quickly blocked, arguing that it violated YouTube’s terms of service.
Amazon followed up with a work-around, which was once again blocked by Google. And late last year, the search giant further escalated the conflict by also blocking Amazon’s Fire TV devices from accessing YouTube.
Amazon’s decision to once again sell Chromecast could signal an end to this feud, and increases the likelihood that Google may bring an official YouTube app to Fire TV. A Google spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on such a step Thursday morning; a spokesperson for Amazon told Variety that he had no updates to share, adding: “We are in productive discussions with Google to reach an agreement for the benefit of our mutual customers.”
Update: 12:04pm: This story was updated with a statement from Amazon