Amazon's new Appstore app focuses on Amazon Coins

Earlier this week, Amazon silently updated some of its mobile apps. Next to the Kindle app, a new version of the Appstore app was also introduced without much fanfare. 

The new Amazon Appstore app comes with a new design and increases the focus on Amazon Coins, the company's own virtual currency. Amazon introduced the Coins platform back in 2013, offering a new way for consumers to pay for their apps and in-app items. The popularity of this payment method is unknown, but Amazon Underground, a program that encouraged users to download more apps even by giving commercial products as freebies, shut down earlier this year. 

After the update, the Appstore app features a central tab simply called "Coins" that allows the user to buy various packages. Depending on the number of Coins purchased, various discounts apply. The maximum amount of coins that can be purchased now is 50,000, and this package is priced at US$375, which is 25 percent less than the list price of US$500. 

To the left of the "Coins" tab, there is one called "Categories" and its name should say it all. At last, the "My Apps" tab allows for the easy management and update of a user's apps, similar to the section with the same name in Google Play.

The Amazon Appstore mobile app for Android also works with Fire TV and Fire tablets.