Amazon may ditch Android for its own OS on Fire TV devices

Amazon Fire TV

Amazon’s long-anticipated breakup with Android is reportedly just around the corner—at least for its Fire TV lineup. According to a new report from Lowpass, Amazon plans to launch its first Fire TV device running a brand-new operating system, internally known as Vega OS, later this year.

This shift has been in the works since at least 2023, when rumours first surfaced that Amazon was cooking up a custom platform to move away from Google’s ecosystem. While things have been quiet on the surface, it turns out development never stopped. And now, Amazon seems ready to make the leap—at least with new hardware.

The report says Vega OS is not a fork of Android, but a completely new platform. That means all apps must be rebuilt for it, which has reportedly sent Amazon into full-on diplomacy mode, trying to secure early support from major streaming players to avoid a barren launch.

Interestingly, this news comes shortly after documents surfaced pointing to a new Android-based Fire OS update, leading some to believe the Vega pivot was on pause. But job listings and app development activity suggest otherwise—Amazon is still very much moving forward.

The big question: what happens to existing Fire TV hardware? Swapping an entire OS on millions of devices mid-stream is easier said than done. So odds are we’ll see Vega OS debut on new hardware first, while current Fire TV sticks and smart TVs keep receiving Android-based updates for the foreseeable future.

There’s no word yet on exactly when Vega OS  -- or whatever it might be called -- will launch or what features it’ll bring. But if this pans out, Amazon could soon have full control of its Fire TV software stack—free from Google’s influence.