In a move that’s going to shock plenty of users, Amazon FireTVs might be abandoning Android soon for its own OS. Considering how the majority of Smart TV devices run on some modified version of the open-source Android project, Amazon's decision to make its own proprietary OS is a huge move, especially with so much existing content reliant on its existing one.
According to a report from Lowpass, Amazon has actually been working on an OS alternative as early as 2017. The company has reportedly been discussing this matter with chipmakers for a while now, with most of the OS work supposedly being done.
Going by the codename Vega reports claim that it’s been worked on by those who previously developed Mozilla and Javascript. Zibi Braniecki, an expert who worked on both, wrote on his LinkedIn last year that he was “working on a next-generation Operating System for Smart Home, Automotive, and other Amazon Devices product lines.”
Currently, at the time of writing, Amazon has yet to respond regarding queries about their rumoured Vega OS and if the reports are true. However, given how the company always wants to have a piece of the pie in every media medium, this wouldn’t be too surprising.
Amazon has managed to have a significant presence in streaming platforms and video games, so attempting to make a new OS makes sense. Only time will tell if they actually succeed on this front, though the fact that they’re abandoning Android but not iOS says a lot. It seems even Jeff Bezos knows not to mess with the mighty Apple, not yet anyway.
Despite plenty of success in the delivery and streaming world, Amazon hasn’t been seen in the most positive light lately. Many will remember how workers brought up their shocking working conditions, with some of them having to pee in bottles to get deliveries on time.
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Will the Amazon Vega OS become a huge success? Can the company afford to cut ties with the second most popular OS available? We’ll have to wait and see.