Amazon will reportedly introduce a streaming device this year running on the company’s own OS, Vega, rather than Android.
The Lowpass blog reports that while the platform hasn’t been officially announced yet, Amazon has been working on the Android OS alternative for years and has already released three devices running on Vega – the Echo Show 5, Echo Hub, and Echo Spot smart clock.
The company isn’t abandoning Android altogether. In February, Amazon confirmed that a new Android 14-based operating system would be used for future Fire TV models. That confirmation led some to speculate that Vega was being put on the back burner.
We now know that Vega is also not being abandoned. Amazon is continuing to post job openings for Vega team roles and others working on the Kepler Software Development Kit which lets developers build apps for the platform. In one job posting, Amazon gives this description of the Vega Team.
Welcome to the Vega Runtime team! Our mission is to design, develop, and maintain the core services that power application and service runtime management across all Vega-supported platforms. We are responsible for launching and sandboxing applications, managing their lifecycle, enforcing security and privacy policies, and optimizing system performance while ensuring efficient resource utilization. In addition, we own device idle management and battery awareness, enabling a seamless, power-efficient, and high-performance user experience. By building a scalable, self-service framework, we empower applications—whether native or JS—to run securely and efficiently on devices ranging from Multimodal to TV and Automotive. Your contributions will help shape the foundation of how applications run on Vega, ensuring they are fast, secure, and energy-conscious.
Lowpass has confirmed that several publishers including Paramount, Rakuten and the BBC’s UKTV have been building apps using the Kepler Software Development Kit.
Why use the Vega OS instead of Android? Money, of course. Creating inexpensive streaming devices like the Fire Stick with an in-house OS will allow Amazon to reach a wide range of customers and to have full control over how ads are used to maximize revenue.