I hate that my favorite Amazon Fire TV Stick feature is probably gone forever

Summary

Sideloading apps may be unavailable with new Fire TV Stick update due to switch from Android to Vega OS.
Transition from Android to Vega OS may limit app availability at launch & hinder response to new apps.
New OS arrival date unknown, so it’s premature to worry – old sticks might still work, consider other options.

New products are usually exciting because when they hit, people are typically ready to leave behind what they’ve been using for years in favor of something new. The same thing goes for streaming devices, whether it’s a Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV Stick. Unfortunately, a future Fire TV Stick update seems ready to retire a beloved feature. According to a report, Amazon is ditching the familiar Fire OS, a variation of the popular Android OS, in favor of an in-house option. If that goes according to plan, then there will be some big changes.

With the jump to Amazon’s Vega OS, it means the loss of Android and in turn the loss of sideloading apps. Sideloading has become a way to add even more versatility to your Fire TV Stick, and for a while, it was the only way to enjoy Peacock on the device. It’s not set in stone yet, but the prevailing theory is that sideloading will be gone once the update arrives, and I’m already sad about it. It’s never fun to see people lose functionality with their devices, and my big worry is that’s exactly what Amazon plans to do here.

Amazon Fire TV Stick

If you don’t need 4K, look no further than Amazon’s standard Fire TV stick.

Brand: Amazon
Operating System: Fire OS
Downloadable Apps: Yes
Resolution: Full HD
RAM/storage: 8GB of storage
Connectivity: HDMI

How to install a VPN on an Amazon Fire TV Stick

The end of an era for Amazon

Things won’t be the same

Amazon Fire TV Stick against purple flames

Even if Amazon keeps sideloading, it’ll lose the big benefit it had which was working within an Android operating system. It should go without saying that Android is one of the biggest platforms around, and as a result, we see most apps working within the system. The switch to the Vega OS means it’d lose a lot of that versatility, and it’ll mean apps that don’t run natively on the platform won’t work.

That’s not a big deal on its face, but it’s a problem if Amazon is slow to get apps as they release, as was the case with Peacock and Tubi. A lot of people rely on the Fire TV Stick for their streaming services, so having one arrive late would be devastating. It would likely take years for Vega OS to finally catch up to what Android offers, so it’d feel a lot like a slap in the face if Amazon goes down this path.

Fortunately, sideloading isn’t something the majority of users take advantage of, so the switch would be seamless to a large chunk of users. For people who like to do some additional tinkering, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an option for newer Fire Sticks. I don’t like seeing things being taken away like that, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s not the case. No matter what, there will be fewer apps available at launch since the Android ecosystem is one of the largest out there.

Fortunately, the heavy hitters like Netflix, Max, Hulu, etc. will all be available, so it’s not like you’ll have to wait for important apps to arrive down the road. There are plenty of other third-party apps that won’t be supported by the new Vega OS, at least not at first, so it’ll be a pill that has to be swallowed. The Vega OS won’t have the freedom offered by Android, at least not at first. It’s not known if the usual shortcuts to sideload will work either. As more developers add apps to it, we could have that type of freedom, but that’s also assuming it catches on. If it’s only available for Amazon devices, we might not see developers adopt it like we have with Android.

While this change hasn’t been officially announced by Amazon, the Vega OS is already available on the Echo Show 5, Echo Hub, and Echo Spot. Of course, those aren’t the same as a Fire TV Stick, and sideloading apps to them isn’t as important as it would be on a stick. Nevertheless, it proves Amazon has a new OS and the next iteration of Fire Sticks could very well be running on it.

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Don’t worry just yet

Your old stick will keep on working

There’s not a lot of communication going on about the new operating system, so it might be too early to get up in arms about what’s happening. If your old device doesn’t update automatically to the new OS, you can keep on using it to sideload. Ideally, you won’t need that as the new OS would have everything you need, but it’s too early to tell if that’ll be the case.

According to the initial report, Amazon is behind schedule in rolling out this OS. Vega was meant to arrive for streamers in 2024, but that time has come and gone, and the update hasn’t happened. Amazon would likely hype up the change before selling an updated stick, so you can make your choice then about whether you want to pick up a new model or not. We’d likely find out then if sideloading is supported, and if it still is, then we can all breathe a sigh of relief. If it’s not, then we can hold onto our old sticks for as long as they work. If it were me, however, I’d get what I want sideloading sooner rather than later because there’s no telling if Amazon could change things on the old sticks.

In a way, it’d be nice if Amazon’s new stick makes it so I don’t feel the need to sideload anything because everything I want runs natively on the device. However, there always seem to be some things that slip through the cracks, and that’s a big reason why it’s important for me to keep sideloading as an option. That’s especially the case when new apps come out that aren’t supported right away.

Although it’s not an ideal solution, the Google ecosystem still remains with devices like the Google TV Streamer or an old Chromecast. Sideloading won’t ever go away on those as they’ll continue to use the Android OS since it’s in-house from the company. Fire TV Sticks are popular for sideloading thanks to the cheap price, but there are plenty of other options out there that are just as cheap and fulfill the same needs. I don’t want to see an entire platform get left out, but it’s nice to know other choices remain.