Report: Amazon to Release First Streaming Device Running Vega OS Later This Year

Amazon reportedly plans to launch its first streaming device running Vega OS, a new Linux-based operating system later this year. Lowpass reporter Janko Roettgers, who previously detailed Amazon’s plans to create an alternative for its Android-based Fire TV OS, revealed yesterday that the company is currently courting developers to get on board with its new platform.

If Amazon has yet to officially announce Vega OS, a couple of job listings spotted by Roettgers recently confirmed the existence of Vega OS. Moreover, the company’s new Echo Show 5, Echo Spot, and Echo Hub already run Vega OS, according to the report.

However, Amazon’s work to bring Vega OS to TV screens is taking longer than expected as the company also continues to develop its Fire TV platform. “Amazon has been slower in adopting Vega for its smart TVs and streaming players,” the report reads. “The company originally planned to launch a Vega-powered streaming stick in late 2024, but ultimately delayed that launch.”

According to the report, Amazon “does not currently offer a way to directly port Android-based TV apps to the new platform.” This could give developers second thoughts on spending resources to bring their apps to Vega OS, which uses React Native as its default application framework for TV apps.

Back in November, Amazon announced that it had sold over 250 million Fire TV devices worldwide since the launch of the first-gen Fire TV back in 2014. The Fire TV ecosystem continues to expand with new smart TVs from Amazon and other TV manufacturers, and Amazon recently confirmed that Android 14 is coming to future Fire TV models.

However, with the upcoming retirement of the Amazon Android Appstore, which will follow the closure of the Amazon Appstore for Windows 11 last month, it’s clear that Amazon no longer wants to put all of its eggs in the Android basket. Still, it will be interesting to see how the company plans to make Vega OS coexist with its popular Fire OS devices.