What you need to know
- Amazon's support documents hint that an Android 14-based version of Fire OS may be in the works.
- The company was reportedly planning to ditch Android on Fire TVs, according to a 2023 report.
- There are currently no Fire TV devices that can run Android 14, but some could debut in the future.
Amazon's Fire lineup of products has always had a tricky relationship with Android — many of them use Android as a based, with versions of Amazon Fire OS laid overtop. This means you can, for example, sideload the Google Play Store onto Fire tablets, although it isn't pre-installed. Android also powers Fire OS on Fire TV devices, but a report back in 2023 signaled that Amazon was ditching Android in favor of a new software platform.
More than a year later, there's evidence to suggest that Amazon isn't quite ready to move on from Android for Fire TVs just yet. AFTVnews found a few pieces of developer documentation on official Amazon sites referencing an Android 14-based build for Fire TVs, and it's the first hint we've gotten that Android might live on a little longer on the platform (via 9to5Google).
One support document, titled "Developing for Amazon Fire TV Devices Running Android 14," is all about the upgrade.
"Android 14-based Fire TV is based on API level 34. The following sections explain some of important changes that you should consider when you build apps for Android 14-based Fire TV," the support document explains. "The migration to standard Android components in the following sections will help reduce the risk of compatibility issues and provide ease of maintenance for your app."
Currently, there isn't a Fire OS version based on Android 14 available for current hardware. It's possible that the support document is prepping for new Fire TV hardware with Android 14 at its core, or that it's getting ahead of a future upgrade.
Either way, this is the closest thing we've gotten to an official confirmation that there will be another Fire OS version based on Android 14. According to prior reports, and based on the fact that Amazon's Echo smart displays have seemingly switched over to the new Vega OS, it wasn't a given that Android would live on in Fire OS.
Another support document, titled "Fire OS Overview," lists "(Android Open Source Project) AOSP 14: Based on Android 14 (API level 34)" as an official Fire OS version. This further supports the possibility of Android 14 debuting in a new Fire OS upgrade, or on new Fire TV hardware.
However, this is hardly an official announcement of an Android 14-based Fire OS version, so we'll have to keep an eye on whether this newer version of Android debuts on Fire TVs in the future.
