Amazon to Replace Android on Fire TV With In-House Vega OS

Amazon is finally moving its Fire TV platform off of Android and onto its own operating system called Vega, a long-rumored shift confirmed by an accidental job posting as first reported by The Verge.

• The smoking gun: A since-deleted Amazon job posting confirmed a 2025 launch for the new OS, seeking a leader to help in "building a Vega OS product that will delight customers worldwide." After reporters inquired about the listing, the company scrubbed all mentions of Vega and declined to comment.
• Double trouble for devs: The new OS won’t be coming to existing Fire TV hardware, presenting a challenge for developers. The move forces them to build and maintain separate codebases for both the new Vega platform and the millions of legacy Android-based devices.

An official announcement could come as early as Amazon's hardware event on September 30. The shift to Vega shows Amazon is pushing for greater control over its TV ecosystem, a move that will put it in direct competition with the vertically integrated platforms of Google, Roku, and Samsung.

While its TV division is leaving Android, Amazon is reportedly taking the opposite approach with its tablets, preparing to embrace a more standard version of Android. Elsewhere in the TV world, rival Google is rolling out a redesigned homescreen for its own smart TV platform.