In the back half of 2025, Amazon introduced its new proprietary, Linux-based operating system, Vega OS which replaces the Fire OS. The old platform was an Android fork based on the Android Open Source Project.
Controversially, the new OS is more locked down lacking sideloading support. In a sprawling interview with the UK-based Cord Busters, Amazon's vice president of Fire TV, Aidan Marcuss, finally explains why the switch was made.
An opportunity to 'innovate'
Marcuss told Cord Busters that Vega OS is an opportunity for Amazon to "innovate and deliver more capabilities, even on the least expensive devices.” He also said that it would make things more secure and private for users, which was "sort of utmost in my mind."
That's a somewhat ironic statement since Vega OS blocks the ability to sideload third-party adblockers, in addition to launchers.
“Apps that facilitate piracy, and other apps, can carry malware,” Marcuss said when asked if sideloading actually causes harm. Marcuss also said that there is “a good amount of evidence that apps can carry unwanted code and behavior on them when they’re sideloaded.”
Piracy and malware are legit
For the unfamiliar, sideloading is the ability for Fire Sticks owners to add modified Android apps to the streaming device. When Vega OS was introduced in October 2025, we noted that it would be the illegal streamer's nightmare.
Notably, soccer streamers like DAZN and Sky Sports, which stream top-league soccer matches, have accused Fire Sticks of enabling piracy. In May 2025, Enders Analysis, a media research firm, released a report that specifically blamed the Fire Stick for easily enabling streaming piracy.
Additionally, malware and fraud have been a problem. In November, Malwarebytes reported that 1 in 3 people who illegally stream in the UK have been victims of fraud or scams. The Fire TV focused AFTVNews found a number of blacklisted apps that could "put your personal data risk." The Amazon support forums are littered with posts about strange cryptocurrency malware or other strange malware.
That said, the blacklist also features apps that let users get around the Fire homescreen, which is increasingly an ad fest.
Vega OS isn't quite ready
Vega OS isn't as robust as Fire OS lacking support for things like Dolby Vision or USB storage. As we found in our review of the Fire TV 4K Streaming Stick Select it isn't quite ready for primetime.
"it feels more like a proof-of-concept at this point rather than a full release when it comes to app integration and other assorted features," we said at the time.
Cord Busters asked Marcuss about the difference between the 3,000 supported apps on Vega OS Fire sticks versus 40,000 on Fire OS ones.
“No customer is actually downloading 50,000 apps. The question is whether the apps they want to watch, the content that they’re looking for are there,” Marcuss said. He added that customers can stream “the vast, vast, vast majority of content” on Vega-OS Fire Sticks.
For most people, the difference between Vega and Fire OS won't matter, but as with many decisions to close down platforms recently, it's more about taking away the choice, not whether or not people are using it.
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