Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

No Internet? No problem. Amazon now allows offline viewing on iOS, Android devices

By Christine Persaud Published March 7, 2022

Amazon has become the first major subscription streaming service to allow users to download movies and TV shows for offline viewing on iOS and Android devices. You can almost hear the sound of the mortar fire streaking across the bow of the big red streaming machine that is Netflix.

Amazon Prime Instant Video members in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Austria can now grab select TV shows or full-length movies to watch on an airplane, in the car, or other places where Internet service is unavailable, or if you’d simply prefer not to use up your home broadband bandwidth or cellular data.

Recommended Videos

The option won’t cost you any additional fees, but not all of Amazon’s catalog will be available. The service does, however, note a fairly extensive list that includes original TV series like Bosch and Transparent; as well as popular binge-friendly programs like 24, Downton Abbey, Orphan Black, Sons of Anarchy, The Good Wife, The Newsroom, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Suits, among others.

Select children’s programming is also available offline, including Wishenpoof! (another Amazon original), Tumble Leaf, and Annedroids. On the movie side, you can download and view flicks like Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Captive, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Related: Apple may start producing original television shows and movies

Michael Paull, Vice President of Digital Video at Amazon, says the company recognizes that the way people watch entertainment is changing. “We are proud to be the first and only online subscription streaming service that enables offline viewing—on vacation, in a car, at the beach, on a plane, wherever our Prime members want to watch they can, regardless of Internet connection,” Paull said in a statement.

Amazon had already offered the ability for Prime members to download videos to their Fire devices, and the company reports that the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.

The Amazon Video app for iOS has already been updated to include Prime Video downloads. The Amazon Video app for Android has been redesigned as a standalone video app, including the new offline downloading feature.

Making content even more accessible, Amazon has plans to soon offer streaming service for Prime members while flying JetBlue. Netflix, you’re up.

Christine Persaud

Contributor

Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about…

Topics

Entertainment

I’ve seen enough. Glen Powell is a better Running Man than Arnold Schwarzenegger

Glen Powell poses in a disguise in The Running Man.

Paramount Pictures revealed the first trailer for The Running Man, a dystopian action movie based on Stephen King's 1982 novel. Glen Powell headlines The Running Man, and despite the lack of footage, it's clear that his Ben Richards will be better than the one portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Stop filming me!" Powell's Richards screams before an explosion launches the character off a bridge and into the water. In a near-future society, Ben faces a financial crisis. He needs a doctor to save his sick daughter. Because desperate times call for desperate measures, Ben enters The Running Man, a deadly competition where contestants ("Runners") must survive 30 days. During that timeframe, professional assassins ("Hunters") hunt the contestants down, intending to kill them. Survive and win the grand prize, or die and get nothing.

Entertainment

The Old Guard 2 cast chooses iconic movie moments to witness for the first time

A group of soldiers stand in the dirt in The Old Guard 2.

Internet culture in the Digital Age moves at the snap of a finger. Thanks to the social media algorithm, what's popular today might not be talked about tomorrow. Five years feels like a lifetime. That's how long it's been since The Old Guard premiered on Netflix. It's fitting that a follow-up to a movie about a team of immortals would take its time before hitting the service. Mortals, rejoice. The wait is over. The Old Guard 2 is now available to stream on Netflix.

Charlize Theron returns for the action-packed sequel as Andy, the leader of a team of immortal mercenaries who serve as protectors of the world. The team consists of immortals Nile (KiKi Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and Nicky (Luca Marinelli), along with a mortal, James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Speaking of finite creatures, Andy now copes with her mortality, which affects every decision, knowing she can finally die. Andy and her team will be tested with the arrival of Discord (Uma Thurman), the very first immortal with a sinister plan that threatens the universe. To defeat Discord, Andy seeks the help of an old friend, Tuah (Henry Golding), who may hold the secrets of immortality.

Entertainment

Want to watch Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey teaser trailer? Here’s what you need to know

Matt Damon stares with a helmet on.

The most anticipated movie of 2026 is not up for debate. Apologies to fans of Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Messiah, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but those movies pale in comparison to Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.

For his follow-up to Oppenheimer, Nolan is adapting Homer's Greek epic poem about the legend of Odysseus. The Odyssey is in production and well over a year away from hitting theaters. The first teaser trailer has been released. However, there is a catch.