Amazon Offers Offline Prime Video Viewing For iPhone, Android Users; Ramps Up War With Netflix

Amazon announced Tuesday that iPhone and Android users will now be able to download movies and TV shows to their devices from the Amazon Prime Video subscription service, a direct shot at rival Netflix, which has previously said it will never offer such a feature.

Not all titles on Amazon Prime Video will be available for download, but the Seattle-based company is including quite a few popular choices, including "Downton Abbey," "The Americans" and "Suits," as well as HBO's "Entourage" and "Girls." Moviewise, users will be able to download hits such as "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" among others.

Amazon has offered offline downloading for users of its Fire tablets for years, but with Tuesday's announcement, the handy feature will become available on the much more popular Apple iOS and Android platforms. The feature will be available in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Austria for anyone with a subscription to the $99-per-year Amazon Prime service.

"Amazon Video is the only online subscription streaming video service that enables downloads of titles, meaning unlike other subscription streaming services such as Netflix, Prime members can enjoy movies and TV shows as part of their membership even when they don’t have an Internet connection available," Amazon said in a statement.

The Amazon announcement piles onto an already troubling week for Netflix. This week the company said it would not renew its deal with cable network Epix -- meaning users will lose access to many hit Hollywood movies. Instead, Netflix is opting to draw in subscribers with its own original content, which includes the popular series "House of Cards" and "Orange Is the New Black."

Additionally, Netflix may have more competition in the online streaming market as Variety reported Monday that Apple is now considering creating original content of its own. Apple is still early in these efforts, but an unnamed "high-level executive" said Apple is considering creating a service that would compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Now and others in online video streaming.