Amazon’s Vega TV OS Leaked for 2025 Launch
▼ Summary
– Amazon is replacing Android with its custom Vega OS on Fire TV devices, with the new Linux-based system launching on streaming hardware before year’s end.
– Vega OS has been built in-house, runs on Linux, and uses React Native as its application framework to allow JavaScript-based app development.
– Amazon has already launched three devices running Vega OS (Echo Show 5, Echo Hub, and Echo Spot) and plans to bring it to some Fire tablets.
– An official announcement about Vega OS for TV devices could happen at Amazon’s fall devices event next Tuesday, though the announcement may be “low key.”
– Smart TV app developers have shown muted enthusiasm for Vega OS since they’ll need to support both Android and Vega for Fire TV apps going forward.
New evidence strongly suggests Amazon is preparing to launch its new Vega operating system on Fire TV devices in 2025. A recently discovered job listing for a Prime Video software development manager explicitly mentioned building a “Vega OS product” with an app launching next year. Although Amazon quickly edited the listing to remove the “Vega” name after being contacted, the details point toward an imminent shift for the company’s streaming hardware. An official reveal could come as early as next Tuesday during Amazon’s scheduled fall devices event in New York.
This move represents a significant strategic pivot. Since the original Fire TV launched in 2014, the platform has relied on a modified version of Android. The transition to a proprietary, Linux-based operating system called Vega has been in development for several years. Built entirely in-house, Vega is designed for versatility, capable of running on a wide array of devices. A key feature for developers is its use of the React Native framework, which allows for the creation of native applications using JavaScript. This offers the considerable advantage of making those apps compatible with various other television operating systems beyond just Amazon’s ecosystem.
While Amazon has not formally announced Vega OS, the software is already active on several existing devices. The latest iterations of the Echo Show 5 and Echo Hub smart displays, along with the Echo Spot smart clock, all run on the new platform. Reports also indicate future plans to bring Vega to certain Fire tablets. The job listing provides the most concrete signal yet that a rollout to television products is next, noting the team’s responsibility for the “dedicated Prime Video app on Vega OS, as well as all [Prime Video] experiences on the Vega Launcher.” This implies a content-first home screen experience, similar to the current Fire TV OS, which prominently features individual movies and shows rather than just a simple grid of applications.
Despite Amazon’s proactive efforts to assist developers in porting their apps to the new system, reception within the industry appears lukewarm. App creators are already burdened with supporting a fragmented landscape of TV platforms, including Google TV/Android, Roku, LG’s webOS, and Samsung’s Tizen. The situation is complicated by Amazon’s decision not to upgrade existing Fire TV devices to Vega, while simultaneously allowing TV manufacturers to continue producing new Android-based Fire TVs for the foreseeable future. This effectively forces developers to maintain two separate versions of their Fire TV apps. To ease this transition, an Amazon developer recently released a tool called TVChameleon, designed to demonstrate how to convert native Android TV applications to React Native TV.
All eyes are now on Amazon’s upcoming event for more definitive news. The company has teased new TV hardware, and sources familiar with the plans indicate the event will be used to launch or announce Vega as a TV operating system, though potentially in a “low key” manner. There is some historical precedent for delays, however. Amazon has previously postponed public announcements of Vega multiple times, and sources have indicated that initial plans to launch on a lower-powered Fire TV Stick were pushed back. While a 2025 launch seems to be the current target, there remains a possibility of a last-minute decision to delay the rollout until 2026.
(Source: The Verge)
