Amazon's latest streaming stick is faster, cheaper-feeling, and a little less open.
Amazon has launched a new Fire TV Stick 4K with a redesigned remote and quicker hardware than its predecessor. Unlike earlier Fire TV devices, it runs Amazon's own Vega operating system rather than Android. That switch means the stick no longer supports sideloading apps from outside Amazon's store. The EU's Digital Markets Act, which can force designated "gatekeeper" platforms to allow alternative app installs, does not apply here, because none of Amazon's operating systems carries that designation.
For years, Android-based Fire TV devices let technically inclined users sideload apps Amazon didn't officially support. Moving to Vega closes that door, and conveniently, no regulator can force it back open. It's a tidy demonstration of how a hardware maker can sidestep platform rules simply by not building on a regulated platform in the first place.
Call it a faster remote with a longer leash on Amazon, not on you.