A look into Amazon Prime Video's code reveals that Amazon is building one of the best YouTube TV features — multiview. It would be a game-changer, literally, for one of the best streaming services.
The potential new feature was spotted by Android Authority in one of their regular APK dives. In the latest build of the Prime Video app, version 3.0.389, they discovered code strings like "exit_multiview_text." Based on these strings, it appears that Amazon is working on some version of multiview that would let viewers set up what appears in the different boxes.
Multiview, especially how YouTube TV utilizes the feature, is best for live sports like NFL Sunday Ticket or March Madness. There, you can watch up to four streams simultaneously. YouTube TV added the ability to stream non-sports content, but most people use it for sports. This year, the company added the ability to use a basic version of multiview in the mobile app, which features "pre-determined" options.
Amazon has had clear ambitions of adding live sports to Prime Video for a few years. For the last couple of seasons, Prime has been streaming Thursday night football for the NFL, and it recently signed an 11-year deal to stream NBA and WNBA games.
One bit of code appears to be an effort by Amazon to add a multiview button to the mobile Prime Video app, specifically on Android. That code reveals that users cannot rewind, pause or skip ahead in multiview, which points to more of a live offering.
While the code indicates an "Android_player," which points to a TV app or Prime Video TV app integration, it doesn't elucidate how many streams can be combined into its version of multiview.
So far, based on what was found, these strings are a start but won't tell us how Amazon's version of multiview might work. Will there be four or more streams? Can you build a multiview with the games or shows you want to watch, or will it be pre-determined?
It's also unclear how far along Amazon is in the process of building multiview, so we could see this feature very soon, or it may never come out. That is the risk with APK teardowns, as they give us hints of what companies are building, but the features may change or may get canceled in the interim.
