Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing

Amazon launches the Mac Download Store

Trevor Mogg
By

amazon logoFive months after Apple launched its own Mac App Store selling Mac-only software, Amazon has followed suit with the unveiling of its own similar store.

The opening of Amazon’s Mac Download Store, which happened with little fanfare but was picked up on by The Loop, is the first time that the company has brought all of its Mac software titles together under the same roof. And it’s wasting no time in getting down to business, offering many titles at a better price than found on Apple’s own Mac App Store.

Recommended Videos

To further entice customers, the e-commerce giant is offering the Airport Mania game for free through June 1 (usual price $6.99), as well as a $5 discount on any Mac game or software purchase, also through June 1. Interestingly, some big titles, such as Microsoft Office, are available in Amazon’s Mac Download Store but not in Apple’s Mac App Store. Amazon claims to have around 250 of the biggest software and games titles for the Mac in its new store.

Related

According to The Loop, Amazon says the “Mac Download store features an install-less download process where the customer gets just the product without any unwanted extras, making for faster and easier purchases.”

Also, if a user finds that they need to reload an application for whatever reason, they can do so from Amazon servers for free, as they already own the software. Users of Apple’s Mac App Store can also do the same.

The word “app” is not mentioned on Amazon’s new store as the company no doubt wants to avoid provoking a response from Apple’s lawyers. The two companies are currently embroiled in a legal battle over Amazon’s use of the term “app store” for its Android Appstore. Apple is claiming “improper use” of the term whereas Amazon says it’s generic and so anyone can use it to describe a store selling apps.

Exactly how (or even if) Apple responds to Amazon’s latest offering, only time will tell.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
This laptop beats the MacBook Air in every way but one
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 9 top down view showing tent mode.

The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 9 Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

There are plenty of great 13-inch and 14-inch laptops out there, but none that can defeat the M3 MacBook Air head-to-head. That notebook is the complete package when it comes to ultra-portable laptops.

Read more
How to type an em dash on a Mac
Apple MacBook Pro 14 top down view showing keyboard and touchpad.

The em dash (—) punctuation is a useful stylization in writing and editing that can replace a comma, colon, or parenthesis. Accessing this symbol on a computer can be challenging, depending on the operating system.

The Windows operating system has several built-in and program-associated methods for typing or pulling up the em dash into a word processor or text box. However, macOS is well known for having a system integrated methods of accessing the em dash -- some you may know and some that might not be as obvious.
Keyboard
Apple has made inserting an em dash into your text very simple with a keyboard shortcut. Press the Shift (⇧) + Option (⌥) + Minus (-) keys on your keyboard, and the em dash will appear in your word processor or text box automatically.

Read more
How to forget a network on a Mac
Apple MacBook Pro 16 front view showing display and keyboard.

Most web-connected devices have the convenient ability to remember Wi-Fi networks you connect to everyday, along with networks you only link to on occasion. Macs and MacBooks are no exception to this rule, but what do you do if you own one a macOS machine and want it to forget a Wi-Fi network? Simple: Manually remove it from your computer altogether.

Read more