Great news for Fire TV Sticks – Amazon commits to Android for the foreseeable future

Amazon has confirmed that it will keep using Android as the foundation for Fire TV OS and that the introduction of VegaOS is aimed at lower power hardware, like the new Fire TV Stick 4K Select.

The confirmation – which has come via Android Central – will calm some users who were fearful that Fire TV OS moving away from Android would make it less attractive. Importantly, it also suggested that Amazon might be shutting the door to sideloading.

Sideloading is both the benefit and bane of Android, allowing enthusiasts to do more with the hardware than the manufacturer might have initially intended. While for many that’s simply about expanding the selection of apps that might not be available through the official on-device store – for others, it's a route to illegality.

"Dodgy" Fire TV Sticks have hit headlines over the past couple of years, as a route to accessing subscription content without paying a fee. That's something Amazon is now cracking down on – as well as police and anti-piracy enforcers. According to The Athletic, 4.7 million UK adults have viewed illegal streams in the UK using hacked devices.

That was seen as one of the motivators behind the move to VegaOS, especially for lower priced devices: the Fire TV 4K Select is the cheapest 4K device that Amazon sells, but the Fire TV Stick HD is still cheaper.

As Android Central reports, Amazon is staying committed to Android for Fire TV OS, saying that it is a "multi-OS company". That means it's business as usual for much of the Fire TV range, but what remains unknown is what other devices Amazon might be targeting for VegaOS.

Amazon using its own platform for some devices means it has more control over its hardware: even if that means third-party developers (who likely already develop for Android) have to switch to a new platform, Amazon could escape from dependency on Google for the core software.

It could be a route to Amazon drawing devices closer together, although that hasn't been a problem in the past. If anything, Amazon has found ways to make devices like Echo work with just about everything through its Skills approach and use of cloud computing.

For the immediate future, however, we have to take this confirmation for what it is: Amazon isn't ditching Android, and Fire TV OS will remain much as it is for the foreseeable future.