One of the footnotes of Amazon’s big Devices and Services event today was that it is about to introduce new software to replace Fire OS. And it’s introduced it first on the new Fire TV Stick 4K Select streaming stick which appears to sit between the Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max.
Called Vega OS, there’s one key benefit of it that Amazon points out. It’s very fast and very responsive. Indeed, in its product details, it calls the Select “remarkably fast”. The software isn’t based on Android like Fire OS but it will also power other Amazon products aside from TVs, including the latest Echo Show devices.
The OS is based on Linux like plenty of other TV operating systems, but we don’t have a very detailed picture of what the OS is like yet, or how Amazon will roll it out – aside from on the $50/£50 Select.
In a statement for developers, Amazon says: “Vega is a new operating system built specifically for our devices. It’s highly responsive with an efficient footprint, enabling fast app launches and smooth navigation. Our new Echo devices also run on Vega.”
“We adopted Linux components as our foundation. We built Vega to be scalable across a variety of devices, from small footprint devices, like a Fire TV Stick, to our most advanced devices with on-device AI processing, like our Echo Show.
And so Amazon can retain full control over how things are developed. A common criticism of Fire TV devices up to this point is how slow and unresponsive the operating system is compared to rivals like Roku and that’s clearly something Amazon is looking to address here.
More efficient and faster
Cheaper devices have more basic hardware and Amazon produces a lot of cheaper devices. If it can get better performance on them by just swapping out the software it will have been well worth it. The Select seems to have 1GB of RAM, which isn’t that much and is less than previous high end Fire TV devices.
What’s interesting is how Amazon will develop Vega OS. Surely it will come to Fire TV devices in due course (though the latest TVs don’t have it) and become the company’s main OS… though it isn’t saying this yet, possibly due to sensitivities around its numerous TV manufacturing partners. Indeed, Amazon says in its developer blog post that “we’ve always been a multi-OS company. We have launched and will continue to launch new devices on Fire OS.” But that doesn’t mean it won’t be phased out.
One thing to note is that Vega doesn’t actually look any different so don’t expect a drastic redesign. From the images we’ve seen, Vega OS looks very much like Fire OS, with content rails (prioritising Prime Video content of course) and a lot of personalisation around your recommendations. And it will support the AI-enhanced Alexa+ as you can see in this demo video.
We don’t currently know for sure how well Vega will support apps, but everything points to wide support . While Amazon claims the Select will support all the key streaming services (it lists Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, YouTube, and Apple TV plus quite a few others), this support may not extend to other Fire TV apps.
Vega also won’t allow is the sideloading of other apps – you’ll need to get them from the Amazon Appstore. A small thing, but again ensures Amazon stays in full control of what appears on its platform.
Amazon has sold well excess of 250 million Fire TV-based devices and put on another 50 million between 2023 and 2024 alone. Can Vega OS double down on this success? Time will tell.
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