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Amazon is blaming the threat of malware for its decision stop releasing new Firearms that support downloads apps from outside of Amazon’s Appstore.
Amazon has released two versions of the Fire Stick that run its proprietary, Linux-based operating system, Vega OS. Previously Fire Sticks ran Fire OS, which is a fork of Android from the Android Open Source Project. One of the biggest differences between Vega OS and Fire OS is that the former doesn’t support downloads.
They it was not surprising when Amazon released its first Vega OS Fire Stick. While many game developers have loaded apps, especially from the Google Play Store, to increase functionality, side downloads have also been closely linked to browsing, especially sports.
Over the years, stakeholders, including UK football channel Sky Sports, England’s Premier League, and Europe’s biggest football club, DAZNcriticized the Fire Sticks for being too much of a scam. In May 2025, a report from Enders Analysis, a media and telecommunications research firm, said. Fire Sticks helped make billions of dollars about streaming piracy.
Amazon has stopped making new Fire Sticks and is putting aside the affected ones, especially since service providers like Amazon are showing more interest in the current situation in order to sell products.
In addition, their Fire Stick OS operation gives Amazon greater control over the device, including ensuring that users cannot block the placement of ads on the Fire Stick app – and supporting new features, including Amazon subscriptions and AI-based chatbots, Alexa+and manage program support.
Malware threat
However, Aidan Marcuss, VP of Fire TV, marketing, and Appstore, did not mention this directly about Vega OS when discussing the promotion of the new software. In a recent interview, Or Goren, editor-in-chief of Cord Bustersthe UK press site, noted that Vega is a closed OS. Marcuss responded, according to the book, by saying that Vega OS was an opportunity for Amazon to “innovate and deliver more technology, even on cheaper devices.”
He added that building a platform around security and privacy “is very important in my mind.” The statement is surprising, considering that Vega OS blocks custom launchers and other third-party software that helped users avoid Amazon’s tracking and advertising.
