--- title: I retired my Fire TV Stick after a week with a real... description: A long-time Fire TV Stick user switched to a dedicated Android TV box after Amazon's newer Fire TV Sticks moved to the locked-down, Linux-based Vega OS, which... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-retired-my-fire-tv-stick-after-a-week-with-a-real-android-tv-box-and-the-difference-is-hard-to-ig-avk1mieox twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I retired my Fire TV Stick after a week with a real Android TV box, and the difference is hard to ignore | daily.dev og:description: A long-time Fire TV Stick user switched to a dedicated Android TV box after Amazon's newer Fire TV Sticks moved to the locked-down, Linux-based Vega OS, which... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-retired-my-fire-tv-stick-after-a-week-with-a-real-android-tv-box-and-the-difference-is-hard-to-ig-avk1mieox og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/aVK1mIEOX.png og:image:alt: I retired my Fire TV Stick after a week with a real Android TV box, and the difference is hard to ignore og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I retired my Fire TV Stick after a week with a real Android TV box, and the difference is hard to ignore **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A long-time Fire TV Stick user switched to a dedicated Android TV box after Amazon's newer Fire TV Sticks moved to the locked-down, Linux-based Vega OS, which blocks Android app sideloading. The author found the Android TV box superior in app availability, sideloading flexibility (including F-Droid apps and alternative launchers like Projectivy), storage headroom, and hardware ports like Ethernet and USB, useful for self-hosted media servers such as Jellyfin, Plex, Kodi, or Emby. The verdict favors ditching Fire TV Sticks in favor of Android TV boxes. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Does the new Fire TV Stick with Vega OS support sideloading Android apps? No, the new Fire TV Stick running Amazon's Vega OS does not support sideloading Android apps at all. Vega OS is a locked-down, Linux-powered operating system that replaced the Android-based Fire OS on newer Fire TV Sticks, removing the ability to install alternative launchers, APKs, or other unofficial apps that worked on older Fire OS sticks. _Anyone weighing streaming device upgrades can track platform changes like Vega OS on daily.dev._ ### What are the practical advantages of using an Android TV box instead of a Fire TV Stick for a home media server? An Android TV box typically offers an Ethernet port for stable network connections and USB ports for external drives, unlike a Fire TV Stick which only has a power port and relies on Wi-Fi. These extra ports make Android TV boxes better suited for self-hosted media server setups running Jellyfin, Plex, Kodi, or Emby. _Home server builders comparing streaming hardware options can follow related coverage on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Amazon is slowly destroying everything that made the Fire TV Stick worth buying](https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-is-slowly-destroying-everything-that-made-the-fire-tv-stick-worth-buying-9jwizy3qp) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [The Fire Stick's Vega OS takes away consumer control but gives back efficiency instead](https://daily.dev/posts/the-fire-stick-s-vega-os-takes-away-consumer-control-but-gives-back-efficiency-instead-lupq9q0ev) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [A $40 streaming stick fixed everything wrong with my smart TV](https://daily.dev/posts/a-40-streaming-stick-fixed-everything-wrong-with-my-smart-tv-amfbewlfs) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Amazon is cracking down on illegal streaming on its Fire TV Stick](https://daily.dev/posts/amazon-is-cracking-down-on-illegal-streaming-on-its-fire-tv-stick-g8t6b6ckt) · The Verge · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-retired-my-fire-tv-stick-after-a-week-with-a-real-android-tv-box-and-the-difference-is-hard-to-ig-avk1mieox) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I retired my Fire TV Stick after a week with a real Android TV box, and the difference is hard to ignore","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-retired-my-fire-tv-stick-after-a-week-with-a-real-android-tv-box-and-the-difference-is-hard-to-ig-avk1mieox","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-retired-my-fire-tv-stick-after-a-week-with-a-real-android-tv-box-and-the-difference-is-hard-to-ig-avk1mieox"},"datePublished":"2026-08-24T19:00:51.235Z","dateModified":"2026-08-24T19:07:28.625Z","description":"A long-time Fire TV Stick user switched to a dedicated Android TV box after Amazon's newer Fire TV Sticks moved to the locked-down, Linux-based Vega OS, which...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/31d6395fd3938c05f91e9a30abeb2d34?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/31d6395fd3938c05f91e9a30abeb2d34?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-retired-my-fire-tv-stick-after-a-week-with-a-real-android-tv-box-and-the-difference-is-hard-to-ig-avk1mieox","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I retired my Fire TV Stick after a week with a real Android TV box, and the difference is hard to ignore"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-retired-my-fire-tv-stick-after-a-week-with-a-real-android-tv-box-and-the-difference-is-hard-to-ig-avk1mieox#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Does the new Fire TV Stick with Vega OS support sideloading Android apps?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, the new Fire TV Stick running Amazon's Vega OS does not support sideloading Android apps at all. 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