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This Amazon job ad says its forked version of Android is getting replaced
The listing has since been removed
After months and months of rumors, Amazon appears to be taking the inevitable leap from Android to its own operating system for its Fire hardware. When we first heard that this was a possibility in late 2023, we gawked, saying history shows that Amazon does not have the best track record with building its own software. For example, the company’s Scribe e-reader which was supposed to be a premium, high-end tablet, ended up being mediocre at best. But, thanks to a potentially inadvertent job posting on Amazon’s website, we can presume that Amazon is actively working on replacing Android in its hardware.
Amazon could replace Android with its own OS, but history shows it shouldn't
If an Android skin is too challenging, how does building an entire OS from scratch make sense?
Amazon has reportedly been working its own operating system for Fire devices for quite some time. The new Fire OS, dubbed "Vega," is in the late stage of development and has already begun appearing on some current devices.
How to make your Amazon Fire tablet feel more like stock Android
Change the browser, home screen launcher, digital assistant, and more
Amazon's lineup of Fire tablets might seem like cheap alternatives to the best tablets from Samsung or Lenovo, but they carry a hidden price tag: a lack of Google services. Looking to stream your favorite YouTube videos? Trying to check your Gmail account? Want to scroll through your Photos collection? You'll need to turn to web apps for those apps. And if your favorite Google content doesn't exist there, you're out of luck.
Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen): Smart, speedy, and packed with ads
Hey, you got your Echo in my Fire TV!
I'd understand Amazon's desire to saturate its third-generation Fire TV Cube with annoying advertising a bit more if this super-speedy streaming box, which doubles as a makeshift Echo, cost as much as a typical streaming stick. However, for $140, a price that puts it directly into either Apple TV 4K or Nvidia Shield TV territory, Amazon's advertising-drenched UI feels a bit too overpriced.
In 2011, Amazon released its first tablet, a budget device intended to bring the new tablet form factor to the masses. That Kindle Fire was pushed as the first iPad alternative. While that comparison never really held up, it was successful enough for Amazon to release a selection of the best Amazon Fire tablets, expanding the range to include various streaming and smart home devices.
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Amazon Fire 7 (2022) review: Budget, indeed
Your smartphone probably beats this budget tablet's sluggish performance, but not its price
If you're looking for an Android tablet that can do it all for under $100, you should prepare for disappointment—especially if you're eyeballing Amazon's Fire 7 (2022 edition). We're not going to dunk on this tablet, because there are certainly some people out there who might want a cheap, lightweight device for reading books and watching YouTube, Netflix, or whatever other streaming service you love. To that end, this $60 tablet (with ads; $75 without) isn't the worst buy. But if you already have a decently sized smartphone, even a hand-me-down from the past few years, you're better off sticking with that and saving up for a higher-performing tablet (or a Paperwhite, if you're a voracious reader).
Amazon's new Fire tablet will finally run a slightly more modern version of Android
Fire OS 8 is based on Android 11, while Fire OS 7 was built with Android 9
How much do you about which version of Android your devices are running? If you consider yourself a smartphone enthusiast, you're probably aware of the software that's on your phone right now, but what about all the other devices in your life? Have you checked which version of Android TV powers your living room set? Keeping track gets even more complicated when we're talking about Android forks, like Amazon's heavily tweaked Fire OS. Now with the upcoming release of the new 2022 Fire 7 tablet, Amazon is delivering a big update, introducing the Android 11-based Fire OS 8.
Amazon Fire TV Stick (3rd Gen) review: You should probably buy a Chromecast
Amazon fixes the Fire Stick's performance issues, but the software is still not great
Amazon has been producing Fire TV streaming sticks for several years now, but most of them have been mediocre at best. That’s what you’d expect for the bargain-basement price Amazon is charging. The cheapest 1080p-only Sticks have used bottom-of-the-barrel processors, making them unbearably-slow compared to a Chromecast or Roku, though the upgraded hardware in the Fire TV 4K isn't nearly as bad.For the first time in four years, Amazon has updated the internal hardware for the cheapest 1080p Fire TV Stick, finally giving it the performance boost it so badly needed. However, the software is still frustrating to use, even if it does offer some features not offered by the Fire TV Stick's competitors.
Amazon's Fire tablets rarely receive major OS updates, mostly because they are sold as simple media consumption devices, and Netflix or TikTok doesn't need Android 10 to function. However, the company has now surpassed everyone's low expectations by delivering Android 9 Pie to two of its older tablets.Amazon has now released Fire OS 7 for two of its older tablets, the Fire HD 8 2018 (8th Gen) and Fire 7 2019 (9th Gen). That's the same operating system that ships on the company's newest Fire HD 8 and 10, which uses Android 9 Pie as a base instead of Android 7.1 Nougat. That means you get Picture-in-Picture support for video, notification channels, more specific app permissions, improved battery life, and more.Most importantly, this doesn't appear to be a simple visual upgrade, like the Fire OS 6 update for the company's 2017 tablets was. Amazon didn't respond to our request for information on the updates, but we've installed the update on a Fire HD 8, and it is definitely based on Android 9 Pie.
Fire HD 8 Plus (2020) review: One step closer to the combo tablet-smart display dream
For the first time ever, Amazon is making a 'Plus' variant of the Fire HD 8
Amazon's Fire tablets are popular for one, simple reason: they're really, really cheap. But what happens when you make a slightly-less-cheap Fire tablet? That's the question Amazon sought to answer with the Fire HD 8 Plus, a very-slightly-better version of the new Amazon Fire HD 8 last month, which was already a decent upgrade from previous Fire tablets in both hardware and software.With the HD 8 Plus, Amazon attempts to bring some quality of life improvements like more RAM and wireless charging—a rarity in any tablet—to the table. Combined with the wireless charging stand that essentially turns the HD 8 Plus into a detachable Echo Show, Amazon has what to date is probably the best version of a combination tablet smart display (even if it's not amazing as either).
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) review: The good, cheap Android tablet Google won't build
The first new Fire HD 8 tablet in two years isn't bad at all
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I think it's fair to say that Amazon's lineup of Fire tablets don't have the best reputation, particularly in the tech community. Fire tablets have historically paired bottom-of-the-barrel hardware with outdated versions of Android, and Amazon's extensive changes to the operating system aren't widely loved. The tablets also don't ship with the Google Play Store, though that at least is a quick fix.Amazon has been selling the same Fire HD 8 since 2018, but the company finally released a new model last month. It brings most of the improvements from last year's Fire HD 10 to the 8-inch lineup, including USB Type-C and faster performance, and I think it's a pretty great buy for $90. There's also the Fire HD 8 Plus, which we reviewed separately.
Amazon's Fire tablets have been commoditized to the point where the average consumer can buy six-packs of them at a bulk discount... and that was 4 years ago. They get the job done and they're very cheap — both are good things — but they could be even cheaper. Best Buy is proving that point today with a one-day sale on the Fire HD 10.The device has a humble 10.1-inch display at 1920 x 1200, a quad-core MediaTek processor, 2GB of RAM, and cameras on the rear and the front. It runs Amazon's fork of Android, Fire OS, and you can sideload a ton of apps — YouTube, for starters — with a microSD card of up to 256GB in capacity. There's also the Alexa assistant on-board.
If your TV is tragically not smart enough—or otherwise lacks a way to play Amazon Prime Video—Amazon has been heavily pushing their line of Fire TV devices since 2014. While the 3rd generation Fire TV started shipping last month, Amazon just announced the new Fire TV Stick Basic Edition. Problem is, there's absolutely nothing new about this at all.The year-old 2nd Generation Fire TV Stick is powered by the quad-core Mediatek 8127D at 1.3 GHz, accompanied with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. It can decode H.265 video, and supports Bluetooth 4.1 and 802.11 ac Wi-Fi. The "new" Basic Edition has identical technical specs, and identical physical specs—both are 1.1 oz (32.0 g) and 3.4” x 1.2” x 0.5” (85.9 mm x 30.0 mm x 12.6 mm).The "new" Basic Edition has a different remote compared to the 2nd Generation, it lacks the Alexa voice control integration. The remote itself, though, is actually the remote from the 1st Generation Fire TV Stick. So far, there's a whole lot of "Basic," but no "new" to be found. The product page does not specify the Fire OS version, though the 2nd generation stick is stuck on Fire OS 5, based on the three-year-old Android Lollipop.For unknown reasons, the Basic Edition is $49.99 while the 2nd generation debuted at $39.99. If you feel like paying $10 more to not have Alexa, the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition is available now. It ships to "more than 100 countries around the world," though Amazon doesn't have operations in that many countries. Presumably, it ships from Amazon.com to the countries in question.
Amazon's fork of Android is known as Fire OS, and it ships on all of the company's tablets and TV devices. The current version, Fire OS 5, is getting a bit long in the tooth; it's based on either Lollipop or Marshmallow, depending on the device. Amazon revealed quite a few new products recently, but one announcement flew under the radar - Fire OS 6.0.According to a developer page on Amazon's site, the update is based on Android 7.1.2, instead of the Android 5.1 or 6.0 that Fire OS 5 used. That's quite the leap in features, and for Fire TV devices, some Android TV abilities like Picture-in-Picture and Content Recording will be included. It's not clear if multi-window will be supported on Fire OS 6, as some OS forks drop the feature (like MIUI), but the post primarily focuses on the improvements for Fire TV devices.Amazon hasn't revealed much about updating its existing devices, except that all existing Fire TV products will not be updated to Fire OS 6 (at least, for now). These include the Fire TV Stick first/second-generation, Fire TV first/second-generation, and Fire TV Edition. The wording is a bit vauge, as Amazon simply says, "At this time, the previous Fire TV devices will not uplevel to Fire OS 6." That seems to leave the door open for an update in the future, but if so, it won't happen anytime soon.Fire OS 6.0 will premiere on the 4K Fire TV, which is available for pre-order from Amazon and will ship in October. Hopefully we'll find out more information about v6.0 for Fire tablets soon.Source: Amazon developer documentationThanks: Faheem
Back in 2010, Android 2.1 Eclair added voice dictation when the keyboard is open to let you use speech instead of hunting and pecking on your 3" display to type a few letters and characters. That function apparently never made it into Amazon's Fire OS Android fork on TVs (it's available on Fire tablets as far as I can tell). But that's changing now that Amazon is all about voice.Fire OS 5.2.6 has been rolling to TV devices since September 13, but the official changelog was just posted and Amazon and says you can hold the voice button on the Alexa Voice Remote or the Fire TV Remote App (on your phone) when the keyboard is open to dictate text instead of typing one letter at a time. However, that won't work in all apps or forms, and username and password fields aren't supported. YouTube and Netflix for eg use their own keyboards and don't support voice dictation. Despite the limitations, I'm sure the feature will be welcome wherever it works.
Back in 2015, Amazon released its cheapest tablet yet - the 'Fire tablet' for just $50 (with lock-screen ads). There's still a sizable developer community around the device too, with plenty of hacks and ROMs available for owners.Now the company is following up with a new model, named the Fire 7. The Fire HD 8 is also getting a minor refresh, in case you need something a little bigger. The 7-inch tablet still starts at $50 with lock-screen ads, and $64.99 without. The Fire HD 8 starts at $79.99 with lock-screen ads, and $94.99 without.So you might be wondering what is different with the new models. Honestly, there doesn't appear to be any major hardware or software differences. The colors are different - both tablets are available in Black, Canary Yellow, Marine Blue, and Punch Red. The smaller Fire 7 also has dual-band Wi-Fi for the first time, so you can connect to 5GHz networks.Here are the full specifications for the Fire 7/Fire 7 Kids Edition:
Just two days ago, Roku announced their new lineup of media center devices, and today Amazon has made public their latest Fire TV Stick. If you are unfamiliar with Amazon's hardware offerings, the Fire TV Stick is their competitor to the Chromecast (even to the point of Amazon removing Chromecast listings from their store). But unlike the Chromecast, and similar to the recently-announced Roku Express, all applications run directly on the device. The Fire TV stick also has a sizable game library, which is certainly unique at the price point.The updated Fire TV Stick is a major improvement in almost every way. The CPU has seen a major upgrade from the first generation's dual-core ARM Cortex A9. It is now powered by the quad-core Mediatek 8127D, the same chipset found in the Amazon Fire tablet. It has the same 8GB internal storage and 1GB of RAM as the original, but makes the jump from Bluetooth 3.0 to 4.1. The device can also decode H.265 video, no doubt future-proofing for future streaming and media support. Finally, 802.11ac WiFi support has been added.On the software side, the new Fire TV Stick is running the same Fire OS 5 that other Fire devices run on, a modified version of Android 5.0 Lollipop. The biggest improvement is the addition of Alexa, Amazon's voice assistant. You can open applications, ask queries similar to Google Now, and control other Fire TV functions easily. To facilitate this, the new Fire TV Stick has a redesigned remote with a microphone button.Overall, this is a much-needed improvement from the first generation, and if you don't mind the Amazon ecosystem it is a solid option. You can pre-order it right now, and it will go on sale October 20.
You might have heard that Amazon disabled the option for software encryption in the latest version of its Android-based Fire OS for the Kindle Fire series of tablets. (This isn't new - Fire OS 5 has been rolling out to various tablets since last year.) And if you read news that isn't Android Police, you probably also know that it's not the biggest story involving encryption right now. After consumer backlash following the Apple-FBI encryption case, Engadget reports that Amazon says it will return software encryption in the next major update.
Fire OS 5 is the latest release of Amazon's customized version of Android. As is tradition for the company's products, this firmware upgrade bumps devices up to being only one major version out of date. Instead of Marshmallow, Amazon's Fire gadgets are making their way up to Android 5.1.Amazon has started pushing out Fire OS 5 to the 1st generation Fire TV and Fire TV stick. The 2nd gen hardware, which was already running 5.0.4, is also getting a boost. After the latest round of updates, all four gadgets should be left at 5.0.5.This update makes the 1st gen Fire TV and Fire TV Stick compatible with Amazon's new voice remote and game controller. The 2nd gen Fire TV gets game controller compatibility, while the 2nd gen Fire TV Stick gets Bluetooth headphone support for private listening. Both 1st and 2nd gen devices get a redesigned home screen with new video categories.You can view the complete changelogs for all four devices at the source link below.Source: Amazon
It's been about a year since Amazon released the first Fire TV Stick (give or take a couple of months), which was probably the best streaming stick at the time—arguably better than both Chromecast and Roku Streaming Stick. Naturally, the company didn't want to wait too long before updating both the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, though I'm not sure that I'd call what the FTV Stick got an actual "upgrade." Really, it's the same stick as last year, but now there's an option to bundle it with the voice remote for just $10 more than the normal price of $40 (making it $50). Still, it's basically the best streaming stick that you can get today, especially if you're looking for something a little more "full featured" than a Chromecast.