Nov 23, 2018. As of this article, the most popular Android TV Box is the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. This inexpensive small plastic rectangle is powered by Android OS and is extremely popular because of the free media that may be accessed after jailbreaking it. Due to the open nature of the Android Operating System and popularity, app developers and box manufacturers find this a great platform to use.
Fire OS is the operating system that runs Amazon's Fire TV and tablets. Fire OS is a fork of Android, so if your app runs on Android, it will most likely run on Amazon's Fire devices too. You can quickly check your app's compatibility with Amazon through the App Testing Service. As a developer, you might not have to adjust your Android code at all to publish your app on Amazon's platform.
Fire OS Versions
There are three versions of Fire OS:
- Fire OS 7: Based on Android 9 (Pie, API level 28). See Developing for Fire OS 7 for more details.
- Fire OS 6: Based on Android 7.1 (Nougat, API level 25). See Developing for Fire OS 6 for more details.
- Fire OS 5: Based on Android 5.1 (Lollipop, API level 22)
The following table shows which Fire TV device runs which Fire OS version.
| Fire TV Device | Build Model | Android Level | Fire OS Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire TV Stick - 3rd Gen (2020) | AFTSSS | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Stick Lite - 1st Gen (2020) | AFTSS | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Edition - Toshiba 4K UHD (2020) | AFTDCT31 | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Edition - Insignia 4K UHD (2020) | AFTDCT31 | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Stick - 2nd Gen (2016-2019) | AFTT | Android Level 22 (Android 5.1) | Fire OS 5 |
| Fire TV Edition - Toshiba HD (2018-2020) | AFTBAMR311 | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV Edition - Insignia HD (2018-2020) | AFTEAMR311 | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV Edition - Toshiba 4K (2018-2019) | AFTKMST12 | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV Edition - Onida HD (2019) | AFTLE | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV Cube - 2nd Gen (2019) | AFTR | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Edition - Grundig OLED 4K (2019) | AFTEUFF014 | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Edition - Grundig Vision 7, 4K (2019) | AFTEU014 | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Edition - JVC 4K (2019) | AFTSO001 | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Edition - Nebula Soundbar (2019) | AFTMM | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV Edition - Grundig Vision 6 HD (2019) | AFTEU011 | Android Level 28 (Android 9) | Fire OS 7 |
| Fire TV Edition - Insignia 4K (2018) | AFTJMST12 | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV Cube - 1st Gen (2018) | AFTA | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV Stick 4K - 1st Gen (2018) | AFTMM | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV Stick - Basic Edition (2017) | AFTT | Android Level 22 (Android 5.1) | Fire OS 5 |
| Fire TV Edition - Element 4K (2017) | AFTRS | Android Level 22 (Android 5.1) | Fire OS 5 |
| Fire TV - 3rd Gen (2017) | AFTN | API Level 25 (Android 7.1) | Fire OS 6 |
| Fire TV - 2nd Gen (2015) | AFTS | Android Level 22 (Android 5.1) | Fire OS 5 |
| Fire TV Stick - 1st Gen (2014) | AFTM | Android Level 22 (Android 5.1) | Fire OS 5 |
| Fire TV - 1st Gen (2014) | AFTB | Android Level 22 (Android 5.1) | Fire OS 5 |
See Device Specifications for Fire TV for more specification information.
Most Fire devices receive over-the-air updates to get Fire OS updates automatically. Not every Fire device receives a push of the same Fire OS version at the same time. The updates often roll out to different devices at different times.
You can see your version of Fire OS by going to Settings > Device > Fire TV and looking at the 'Software Version' details. Release notes for Fire OS versions are provided in Amazon Fire TV Device Software Updates in the Fire TV end-user documentation.
Differences in Services
At the core, both Fire OS and Android share the same foundation. The main way Fire OS differs from Android is in the services. Instead of using Google's services (for activities such as browsing, location, messaging, payments, and so on), Fire OS might use Amazon's services. Most notably, Amazon uses the Amazon Appstore to list your app while Google uses Google Play Store.
If your Android app connects into Google services, porting your Android app to the Fire OS platform may require you to tap into Amazon services instead.
Install Android Tv Os On Any Android Box
When you're building your app, follow the standard Android documentation. Where there are differences to account for with Amazon's Fire OS platform, they're noted in the documentation on this site.
Install Android Tv Os On Pendrive
The goal is to provide as much parity as possible with Android (minus Google's services) so that you don't have to learn another development platform or make changes to your existing Android app.
The following table contrasts services from Google with similar services from Amazon.
| Google Android | Fire OS |
|---|---|
| Google Maps | Amazon Maps API |
| Firebase Cloud Messaging | Amazon Device Messaging |
| Google Play In-App Billing | Amazon In-App Purchasing API |
| Cast SDK | Fling SDK |
| Google Mobile Ads SDK | Amazon Mobile Ad Network Advertise Your App |
| Sign-In with Google | Login with Amazon |
| Google Play Developer API | Developer Publishing API |
Last updated: Jun 30, 2017