Amazon.com has signed a deal to expand the selection of Apple products on its sites worldwide. The world’s largest e-commerce company said Friday it’ll soon start selling more Apple products directly and have access to Apple’s latest devices, including the new iPad Pro, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and Apple Watch Series 4, as well as Apple’s lineup of Beats headphones. The Amazon-Apple deal encompasses the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and India, with the new products hitting Amazon sites in the coming weeks
Currently, many of these Apple products are either unavailable on Amazon or are on sale only through its third-party marketplace at varied prices and conditions. Amazon already sells some Apple devices directly, such as MacBook laptops and Beats headphones.
“Amazon is constantly working to enhance the customer experience, and one of the ways we do this is by increasing selection of the products we know customers want,” an Amazon spokesperson said Friday in a statement. “We look forward to expanding our assortment of Apple and Beats products globally.”
With the new deal, customers should expect to see a greater selection of new Apple products and at standard prices. Also, the agreement offers a big win for Amazon just ahead of the holiday shopping season, giving it more electronics from a leading device maker with highly sought-after products. For Apple, the deal could help it sell more devices worldwide.
The agreement also points to relations between the two tech giants improving. In 2015, Amazon removed Apple TV video streamers from its site, then brought the devices back last year. At the same time last year, Amazon said it was also bringing back Google’s Chromecast streamers, but they are still unavailable amid shaky relations with Google.
The timing of the deal does beg the question – why now? Amazons weaker-than-expected revenue in its latest quarter may have been a motivator for the company heading into the holidays.
The arrangement does include a few caveats. Apple’s HomePod smart speaker, which competes against Amazon’s own Echo devices, isn’t included. Amazon doesn’t list either the HomePod or the rival Google Home speakers on their site.
Only Apple-authorized resellers will now be allowed to sell Apple and Beats products on Amazon’s marketplace. Independent sellers who list new and used Apple products on Amazon today, will have those listings removed after Jan. 4, 2019. Those sellers will now have to apply with Apple to become authorized resellers on Amazon. An email to sellers about this change went out just after the deal was signed.
The change will allow Apple and Amazon to have more control over inventory and pricing of Apple products. But smaller sellers and folks who flip iPhones right after they go on sale are likely to be hurt by the deal. Also, customers shopping for used (but not refurbished) Apple products may find a much more limited selection on Amazon. In both cases, those sellers and customers will be more likely to go to rival online sites like eBay instead.
