Amazon will keep using Android on Fire TV as new Vega OS focuses on low-end devices

November 17, 2025

Amazon has confirmed that it’s not giving up on Android for its Fire TV lineup just yet, implying that its new Vega OS might focus mainly on low-end or low-power devices.

Vega OS launched about a month ago as Amazon’s long-in-development operating system that was always set to replace Android on Fire TV and other devices, at least in some capacity. The new platform requires brand new apps and brings a lot of changes, but does enable the extrememly-low-power Fire TV Stick 4K Select to run smoothly, even if some of its non-native apps just end up being streamed from the cloud.

While Vega OS will clearly play a big role in the future of Fire TV, Amazon is saying that it’s not done with Android, at least not yet.

Amazon VP of Device Software & Services, Robert Williams, said in a LinkedIn post last month that Amazon “will continue to build on it and with” Android. Fast Company highlighted that post in a recent article, further pointing out Williams’ quote that Amazon “felt that we could build something more purpose-built for consumer electronics devices that was faster and used more modern components and design.”

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The same Fast Company article, penned by Janko Roettgers – the reporter who has been tracking Vega OS development for years now, dives into reasons why Amazon is developing Vega OS, including the platform being an “insurance policy against Google.”

Meanwhile, in a larger statement sent to the folks at Android Authority, Amazon says that “Fire OS” isn’t going away and hints that Vega OS, at least for now, will primarily focus on low-end hardware such as the Fire TV Stick 4K Select and Echo devices.

We’re a multi-OS company, and Fire OS isn’t going anywhere. Vega OS gives us the flexibility to create premium experiences at every price point—notably on smaller, more affordable devices that run on low memory footprints, but also on larger devices running complex AI programs such as Alexa+. Creating and managing our own operating system lets us innovate across the whole tech stack within our devices where we need it.

Keeping Roettgers’ argument about Vega being an “insurance policy” in mind, there’s nothing in Amazon’s statement suggesting Vega will never be used on higher-end devices, but it’s pretty obvious that the focus right now is on low-end hardware and devices that need additional flexibility behind the scenes.

Ahead of Black Friday, Amazon is offering the new Vega-powered Fire TV Stick 4K Select for a mere $22.