Amazon’s Vega OS: What You Need to Know

Amazon is one of the biggest players in the smart device market, with its Fire tablets, Fire TV devices, Echo Show smart displays, and more. But did you know that most of these devices run on a modified version of Android, the same operating system that powers millions of smartphones and tablets around the world?

Android is an open source project that anyone can use and customize, but it also comes with some drawbacks. For one thing, it is not optimized for smart devices that have different needs and capabilities than phones. For another, it is often outdated and bloated with unnecessary code and features that Amazon does not use or need.

That is why Amazon has been secretly working on its own operating system, code-named Vega, since at least 2019. Vega is based on Linux, a popular and versatile operating system that can run on almost any device. It also uses React Native, a framework that allows developers to create apps using JavaScript, a widely used programming language.

Vega is designed to be fast, lightweight, and easy to develop for. It will also give Amazon more control over its own devices and services, without relying on Google or other third parties. Amazon hopes that Vega will eventually replace Android on all of its smart devices, from Fire TV sticks to Echo Show displays to in-car entertainment systems.

But when will Vega be available to the public? According to sources, Amazon has already started testing Vega on some Echo Show devices, and plans to launch it on Fire TV devices as early as next year. From there, it will gradually roll out Vega to other devices and categories, depending on the feedback and adoption rate.

However, Amazon has not officially announced or confirmed anything about Vega yet. It is still working on the core development and the SDK (software development kit) that will allow app developers to create and port apps for Vega. It is also unclear how Vega will affect the existing Fire OS devices and apps, and whether they will be compatible or not.

Amazon’s Vega OS is a bold and ambitious project that could change the landscape of the smart device market. It could also pose a challenge to Google, which dominates the Android ecosystem and has its own smart device platform, Google TV. Whether Vega will succeed or fail remains to be seen, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on.