Most Fire-branded kit, including Amazon’s tablets, runs Fire OS, which is a fork of Google’s Android Open Source Project. The snag is this means hardware running on outdated software. For instance, last year’s Fire HD 8 shipped with Fire OS 8, which was still based on Android 11 from 2020.
Some Alexa-powered gizmos, like the Echo Hub, Echo Show 5 (3rd gen), and Echo Spot, already run code built on the Linux 5.16 kernel, though Amazon has never officially admitted Vega OS exists.
A now-edited job listing spotted by Lowpass revealed Amazon was looking for a software development manager to take “full responsibility for the Vega OS experience” and help shape a Prime Video app launching in 2025.
Amazon quickly scrubbed mentions of Vega after Lowpass asked questions, and the outfit is refusing to comment. Insiders told Lowpass the switch will only apply to new Fire TV devices, not existing ones.
For Amazon, owning the entire OS stack is a way to cut out Google and make more money. TV makers have shifted away from flogging cheap hardware towards chasing recurring revenue streams from advertising, analytics, and software tie-ins.
Running its own system would give Amazon far more freedom to ram its Alexa+ generative AI assistant into your living room.
That AI assistant, unveiled with much fanfare earlier this year, is supposed to suggest shows based on conversational prompts, making Fire TV one of the few places Amazon has a real shot at monetising it.
Relations with Google have been frosty for years. In 2022, Amazon accused Google of stopping Android partners from making Fire TVs, before both sides apparently struck a quiet deal letting OEMs like Hisense build them. A proprietary Linux-based OS would make Amazon less dependent on such backroom arrangements.
It strips out Android’s smartphone cruft, most of which is pointless on a streaming stick.
Three sources told Lowpass that Amazon plans to unveil Vega OS for TVs at its New York devices event next Tuesday, though the company has teased a launch before without delivering.