As the new Apple TV launches, Amazon's video app is still 'coming soon'

Apple's newest Apple TV hardware hit stores on Friday, but one of its key announced pieces of software is nowhere to be found.

Earlier this summer, Apple announced that the Prime Video app was coming to Apple TV.

Prime Video enables subscribers to Amazon Prime to watch lots of TV shows and movies, and soon, live TV as well. 

"Today we're really thrilled to announce that Amazon is coming - Amazon is coming to the TV app in Apple and all Apple TVs later this year with Amazon Prime Video," Apple CEO Tim Cook said onstage in June. 

There's still no official launch date for the Amazon Prime video app. An Apple representative pointed us to the press release for the new Apple TV 4K set-top box that went on sale on Friday, which says that the app is "coming soon."

"I don't have any specifics to share regarding a date," an Amazon representative said. 

While it's not quite the self-imposed end of the year deadline yet, there are several reasons to expect the new Amazon Prime Apple TV app soon.

First, Amazon bought the rights to stream NFL games on Thursday nights. The first football game streaming on Amazon is happening this Thursday between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. 

Those are two big markets with fans who may be frustrated when they can't watch the game on their Apple-equipped TVs. But there will be alternatives: 600 different devices will be able to watch the game through a Prime Video app, an Amazon representative said. 

The first report about Amazon's change-of-heart on Apple TV supported cited Amazon employees that expected the app to show up in the third quarter. 

Amazon's Prime video app has never appeared on an Apple TV, and it's currently one of the few content holdouts on Apple's streaming platform.

The fight between the two tech giants got bitter at points, with Amazon at one point stopping the sales of Apple TV boxes on its website. Recode reported that industry observers believe that the deal would have been worked out at a high-level, which means it likely included CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos. 

Know anything about Amazon Prime video on the Apple TV? Email the author at kleswing@businessinsider.com. We'll be discreet.