Amazon Vega

2023: Creation of the OS

On November 9, 2023, it was reported that Amazon had developed its own operating system to replace Android on the company's devices. The software platform based on the Linux kernel is codenamed Vega.

It is noted that the idea of ​ ​ creating Vega goes away with horses at least in 2017. Then Amazon discussed the possibility of creating its own OS with chip manufacturers. In September 2022, one of Amazon's employees announced that the company was creating "a competitor to Android/iOS for various devices and the Internet of Things." The project is being implemented by the Amazon Device OS division: "hundreds of specialists" are involved in it.

Amazon has developed its own operating system

As of November 2023, Amazon devices such as Fire TV set-top boxes and TVs, Echo Show smart displays, and Fire tablets use the Fire OS platform, which is based on the source code of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). The advantage of this approach is the ease of transferring existing applications from Android to Fire OS. However, there are also disadvantages. Being the operating system originally developed for smartphones, Android contains a significant amount of code that devices do not need for a smart home. And because of this, there is an additional load on hardware resources. In addition, there are difficulties with including updates in Fire OS.

The release of Vega will allow Amazon to solve existing problems, as well as get rid of its dependence on Google. It is noted that Vega is a web-based OS that the company intends to use at the first stage on smart home devices, including smart TVs. Going forward, Vega is expected to replace Fire OS on Amazon's smart displays and tablets, as well as become the software backbone of new products such as automotive entertainment systems.^[1]

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