First look: Amazon Prime Video's offline viewing

Amazon Prime offline
Amazon Prime offline

Amazon Prime has been getting better and better for TV and film lovers as it takes on the ever-growing list of streaming rivals, but the service just stuck the knife into Netflix in a big way with a massive new feature - offline viewing.

That means you can store video locally on your device and watch (in a time-limited window) even when you don't have a connection - and given that Prime Video has only worked with a Wi-Fi connection previously, that's a big deal indeed.

Plus, offline viewing (often called offline caching) is something that the service's biggest rival, Netflix, doesn't offer. We've spent some time with offline viewing and pulled together a straightforward "how to" as well as some of our initial thoughts.

Amazon Prime downloaded

We went for the iOS version - although it is available for Android as well. The update is relatively small, and once it's installed you'll get a different option screen when looking at an Amazon Prime Show.

Amazon Prime download

When your programme is cached and available online it becomes a tick

Tick for download

And when you select play you'll get a warning about the time you get to watch the programme:

30 days

For this one, the windows was 30 days...

The film library is also available for offline viewing - most of the library seems to be available right now.

Paddington

It's all as intuitive as you'd expect, and the service itself is clearly a massive boon for the entire service.

For those travelling, this functionality is a game-changer, converting an Amazon subscription from a relatively static offering - best taken advantage of at home - to a genuinely useful service.

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.