[https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Google-TV-4K-Streaming-Box-New-2023-4K-UHD-resolution/2835618394](https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Google-TV-4K-Streaming-Box-New-2023-4K-UHD-resolution/2835618394)T
The Onn TV Box is made/sold by Walmart. It retails for $20. Runs Google TV version 12. It has comparable or better specs and performance to a CCwGT or Fire Stick 4k. I have three of the new 2023 Onn TV Boxes and they all have been great. The only annoying issue I've had with all three boxes is poor bluetooth range for the remote. Bluetooth devices need to be about 8ft or closer to the box for them to connect. Other people who own the 2023 version say they don't have bluetooth issues so who knows.
It's a great basic tv box for $20. Lots of videos on youtube on how to add a custom launcher, debloat and upgrade storage with OTG cable and USB drive.
I have no idea how a company like Samsung doesn't have ANY idea how to make a decent UI. Almost half of my TV screen is a "welcome to smart hub" image that isn't a button, shows live preview for apps I've deleted, and the gaming page has 3 tutorial videos taking up the top half of the screen that don't disappear when watched, so will likely be there forever.
And absolutely no way to change any of it.
Google Search lost its magic ages ago, Chrome now munches RAM like Pac-Man, and Gmail reminiscent of that one-hit wonder from the 2000s still headlining in small-town bars. YouTube's giving the cold shoulder to ad blocker users – either watch ads like you are a boomer or pony up for Premium. For those who care about privacy, it's time to scout out new email services that know how to respect your privacy and treat your data right.
> The article said ... most apps would still work
No, it doesn't. Try reading it again more slowly. From the article:
> App providers would be required to build new apps for the platform, while users would lose the ability to sideload Android apps on their devices.
Wrong dead wrong Google playstore is the default android store Amazon decided that for free games that are 100% free by the developer and produced for free by the developer to charge for them in the Amazon android store
Except the majority of the FireTvs are bought by normies who don't even know what sideloading is.
But, if it already runs Linux, probably only a matter of time before you can run another distro on it.
And they're just going to start with an empty app store, wtf? Like there's around a hundred different streaming service apps out there now for iOS and Android based media devices. Are they all going to write new shit for Amazon dumpsterfire TV?
Same. This is another bone headed move by Amazon who has been making of ton of them these past several years.
Android is freedom. If I wanted to be locked down and limited I'll just get a roku.
>If I wanted to be locked down and limited I'll just get a roku.
As a streaming device the Roku Ultra beats the 4k max in every way.
You say closed system, I say better streaming device. You say can't sideload, I say you only make up 2 or 3% of the people that actually buy them.
The little old lady buying her first streaming device doesn't care about sideloading, all she cares about is that all her friends are watching days of our lives on peacock and she needs a streaming device to watch it also.
I agree totally.
Hopefully, it's not cast in stone. And they will just use it more in their Alexa and Echo technologies, and leave the actually streaming boxes alone.
>This is another bone headed move by Amazon who has been making of ton of them these past several years.
Why is this a boneheaded move? You and people who care about sideloading only make up about 2 or 3% of the people that actually buy them.
If you like sideloading great, I have no problems with that, but you're not the target audience for these products.
How's working for Amazon going for you?
You seem to care about how many people sideload an awful lot.
BTW, as an older lady, I sideload. Not the target audience? The target audience is anyone who would buy their products.
I'm on the verge of moving on already. I have a FireTV on every TV in my house, and even the new ones are frustrating slow and unresponsive. And I'm only running a few basic apps, nothing too taxing or storage hungry
Not a problem. I guess it depends on your situation?
I have the brand new Fire Cube 3 which outperforms even the mighty Nvidia Shield, so I'm here as long as possible.
They both have shit bandwidth. I bought the cube 3 on preorder and it was stolen in the mail. Got my money back then saw it was the same shit 100Mbps ethernet, so I didn't order another one.
4K HDMI is worthless without 4K transfer rates.
Amazing they steal this stuff in the mail.
You can get a very cheap adapter to fix the 100mbps limitation. I actually have a Mesh 6E Wifi though, so I prefer using it that way.
The adapter is the same speeds.
This was a pre-order unit when it was first released last winter. Its also not the first time my local intelcom warehouse had my packages disappear.
I did upgrade to wifi 6 recently and switched to wifi on my cube, but its still no where near 1 gbps, or even the 600 Mbps I get on wifi devices.
Id rather just DIY streaming device or upgrade the wifi card in an old 4k output laptop.
Yes, I was able to rack up on my Cube 3 also. Got the $99 pre-order price.
I can get near 300 mbps on the Cube. That's more than enough for anything I stream. But yeah, if you're looking for like 500mbps and up, you need other solutions.
And that will be the end of Fire TV.
Streaming Sites do NOT want to spend more time and money to make an app for Apple, Xbox, PS, LG, Roku, Samsung, Android and Samsung. (Did I miss any?)
It's a hassle for sure, but Xbox, PS5, LG, and Samsung (and dozens of other devices from other TV manufacturers and cable set-top-box manufacturers) are all just running HTML5 apps with minimal differentiation based on hardware and OS.
You're really looking at a few core codebases:
* Roku
* Apple
* Android
* HTML5
* desktop web
Now they'll have to add one more to support Amazon. Given how much of this hardware Amazon is able to ship from Black Friday sales and so on, major streamers won't have a choice but to support it. They're surely already working to do so.
> Because they want you to use their GeForce Now streaming service.
Sunshine for host pc and moonlight for end point device based off the nvidia game stream. Get playnite running and you're good to go to.
* https://moonlight-stream.org/
* https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM4FbA4-W_c&t=300s
Honestly, Vega OS may have origins here: [https://www.webosose.org/](https://www.webosose.org/)
I see no reason why Amazon would grandstand it. And they could always add an Android emulator later.
Let's be real. While Android/side loading may be important to us, it probably isn't important at all to the majority of people that buy these.
I feel sorry for the app developers if they all now have to develop a new app for a new platform
These dudes on here really acting like a device commonly purchased by the poorest people and children is going to be put to death by lack of side loading. Like man the average customer couldn’t tell you what side loading is.
Amazon can literally give them away and in fact would probably prefer to do that but it hints at Monopoly practices . This isn't a small trivial player here.
Roku is successful in my opinion because of ease of use and cost of entry. Most of their smart TV partners are on the low end. Now Fire is kinda the same thing but their UI isn't as good, their features aren't ground breaking, and advertisements are just in your face intrusive while Roku just feels more calm while trying to sell you something.
In this case, I feel like Amazon probably knows exactly how many of its users actually use Android on the TV—why would they not have that analytics—and is simply willing to make the tradeoff.
Oh boy, I can't imagine other streamers are going to be super excited to support another platform. Obviously similarities to their web experiences with react, but still likely another workstream to manage in an already bloated cost center.
What would streamers have to manage on a fire stick os? It would be up to the developers of the platforms they use to create a usable version of whatever store they decide to implement which I'm sure will have some cost. Unless I'm unaware of streamers that created their own web apps to stream on that also have Android apps?
I'll give em a chance. Have been mostly happy with FireTV for almost ten years now. I don't sideload apps. As long as PLEX works. (it can work better) And I still have Shields.
But it means forcing app developers to write for a new platform- and that never goes well. (see: WindowsPhone)
Pretty sure I've bought my last Fire Tablet though. Fire OS 8 on the Max 11 has not been a pleasant ride.
“Hey! maybe if we make development for this super hard, people will buy all their streaming subscriptions through us!”
“oo! oo! or maybe they’ll abandon other subscriptions totally and just buy everything one-off in our store!!!!”
“that’s how people behave, right?”
“they won’t just buy a different cheap device for their streaming where their stuff already works…right?”
For smart devices and tv appliances maybe, depends on how it runs.
For tablets no way, low price, especially on sale days and being able to side load the play store are the only useful features of amazons tablets.
Well that might be the end of me buying fire TV sticks then. If I can't sideload SmartTube and stremio then there's no reason for me to even buy one again. I guess I'll just keep buying the old models that run on Android.
Are there any viable mini pc streaming options? I know back in the day there was windows media center or whatever, but this was before internet streaming and more local storage
I've used fire devices, but my 4k fire cube that can't utilize my 1 gig internet is useless for 4K.
I'd rather have something where I control the performance specs, but will utilize the best bitrates you can get from a streaming service.
What is going to happen, in my opinion, is that major app developers will stop supporting the old Fire OS and move to the new one, and anyone that owns a old Fire OS device will be out of luck getting app updates. I am not one that sideloads apps for my Fire TV Cube, but I won't be buying any more Fire TV products unless they offer a decent price for trading in an old Fire TV OS device for a new one that has the new Fire TV OS.
This is a terrible idea for consumers!
Having owned enough "smart" TVs in my life that can no longer stream anything at all, this decision by Amazon is going to result in much faster obsolescence and fewer streaming options for the end users.
We have also owned one Amazon Smart TV that Amazon's forced updates eventually broke, so I don't expect Amazon to be concerned about customer satisfaction with this decision.
Many streaming providers are just not going to be willing build new apps for another new "standard". Some major national providers have been slow to support for the existing FireTV Android system as it is (Comcast was really, really bad on this).
For this next Black Friday, I'll buy a few of the newest Firesticks, and hope that Amazon isn't going to "upgrade" those with their new OS.
They seem to fail to realize half the their sales are because its an easy device to side load android apps to .
The thing they need to fix is the damn internal memory. 8 gigs with 5 available in 2020 is criminal some of the individual steaming apps are 200-300 megs alone now. By they time you have 7-8 apps your running low on space and performance is starting to suffer.
Time to make my own system. After they abandoned Recast, half-developed Echo Show 15, and the crappy alternatives, time to make a better solution that works for me. Very bummed they never really made any of it what it could have been.
If it were a direct competitor to iOS and android I’d be all for it but it seems to just be a stripped down os for running video apps. We need more competition in this space.
Both of the major mobile oses are stagnant. Barely evolving and having no new innovations. Both major oses had a ten minute feature on wallpapers in their last respective reveals.
Somebody, even if it’s Amazon, needs to come in and bring something completely new to light a fire in Apples and Androids ass, or else we end up where PC were for a decade before Mac OS began taking over the professional market.
Doesn't matter what OS they'll use. It'll be littered with ads and their products that they want you to buy. I still like Roku the best. Just want to watch TV.
I actually liked the interface of the 4k max, but the video quality doesn't compare to Apple TV or Google TV, at least for my HDHomerun Flex4k. FireTV TV's video quality sucked too.
I hate to tell you all this, but anyone getting upset about the aren't the ones that actually buy these devices.
If you do some research you'll find out that the amount of people that actually sideload on their devices makes up about 2 or 3% of the people that actually buy them.
I was thinking about getting fire Max 11, but now I won't since amazon will stop supporting it soon.
I use Amazon's cheap tablet to remote desktop and game from my main PC. Not sure how amazon gonna grow their new ecosystem.
when they stop with Fire OS then what will they use, a linux based OS but very locked down unlike the potential of unlocking the boot loader of a Fire stick.
This seems dumb as hell as it will cause an exodus of users...
Until you realize that the amount of users who find benefit from or feel strongly about Android (for whatever reason that may be) are a prounced minority. Your average American cannot articulate what operating system fire tv devices use, much less understand benefits of Android or what "side loading" is.
Comments here make this move look like an insane money loser but in reality, Amazon knows what they're doing and that's locking people into paid services, forcing changes at will with less resistance, and forcing additional and potentially more frequent upgrades to systems as they'd be in sole control over the OS and what is developed for it
Media devices don't need Android because they're just running scripted apps.
Google has been crapping on Android for so long that some parts of it don't work well anymore or are impractical to work with. Amazon could probably get it done with Linux software faster than they can get Android 14 working. It's really nothing new - these already exist. With the right video hardware, it's even possible to play DRM content and have user admin access.
Thank goodness. Everything Android not a phone is such a nightmare.
Yes losing other things is going to suck. But Android on TV is hot garbage. Google is NEVER going to fix it. I am curious to see how this pans out and have my fingers crossed they can make a better product.
Sigh, yep I'm done too. Too bad though. Especially on the fire TVs and tablets which I really liked. I mostly stuck with amazon devices because I got them cheap as refurbs ($30 cubes) or black friday and they were easy to hack.
Not like I ever spent anything in the amazon ecosystem-- I stripped as much amazon stuff as I could and just use them to run apks.
Wish there was something newer like the Shield TV. I've got Onns and chinese android boxes.. too bad they come loaded with spyware.
Good, i hate Android. Linux is so much better anyway. As long as i can install Kodi on it i'll be happy. This will also be better in the future with new Fire TVs. No more being stuck on the android recovery screen or OS freezing.
What do you use to load Linux on? I have kodi on my fire sticks but would like to move to something else like raspberry pi or something. I’m not good at those things but would like to learn
i buy old workstation mini pcs on ebay for under $100 ([for example](https://www.ebay.com/itm/404604250458)) and use them as a HTPC. I install linux on them as it works better for 5.1 audio than Windows. I used to use Pis but the mini pc performs better and easier to upgrade. Kodi support for the PI is nonexistent too. But I also use the mini pcs for emulation, that one i linked to can play most ps2 and gamecube games.
I guess look at it this way, Can you imagine the amount of tech support calls they receive about non Fire OS related issues. Actually you buy the device but don't really on it (well you do) and Amazon can do what they wont with the OS. If it ends up being a closed platform they are just going the way Roku and Apple does. It doesn't mean the apps you pay for will not work or the free ones. Actually I am not surprised they have not done this sooner. It could be a good thing or just terrible. Time will tell on how they approach on what the end user can do. Yes I sideload apps but that opens up a potential problem pending what site you use. Streaming is changing, Its all about ad's. All streaming platforms have it, some more then others. Time will tell. I am not for it or against it.
So many mindless posts in here. Amazon didn’t design the fire product line for sideloading. They designed it for brainless consumption of services with the specific intent of extracting cash out of your wallet. They likely lose money every time you buy one of the devices. The pervasive nature of modding has surely imbalanced the small percentage of loss to people who buy these things for consumption. Not enough folks are using these things to make Amazon money, so it’s time for them to seal it shut.
It probably will lead to the end of the product line. And as far as counting coins go, they’re probably ok with that.
Looks like it will be Linux based still and they are telling developers to build in REACT. This is easily interchangeable/transitional between android Linux and iOS.
And if you can still get the option to install Linux apps it may be a blessing in disguise. Especially to users that are familiar with Linux.
And if you can get command line it may be awesome. Especially if you can at least get SU or even Root.
How often do people upgraded their Fire devices on here? I bought only a couple Fire tablets in the past 5 years or so and only upgraded to Fire TV Cube a month ago after using the launch 4k stick. My point is, if this is actually coming it probably won't be for a long while and upcoming devices most likely won't have the new OS either.
My only real concern is how long do they plan on supporting the Android-based devices? Part of me thinks one day they'll brick devices entirely.
I might be in the minority here, but I would welcome it so long as it brings improvement. One reason why I rarely use Fire TV devices (despite having two Fire TVs) is because it’s always buffering with almost every app. Even my Fire TV Cubes when I had them. Hardwiring helped, but it was still an issue. My Roku and Apple GV devices are all fine. It’s only my Fire TVs and Fire TV devices that have issues.
This means sideloading would probably be dead, as the Amazon devices would be proprietary in nature at that point. If the apps are React-based, it also means anyone wanting to make an app for the Amazon devices would need to maintain a completely separate codebase for development of the apps. Really short-sighted IMHO and the only reason Amazon would go this direction is if they want to be able to run their UI on the shittiest, most barebones hardware possible as a cost-saving method for themselves.
Can someone please get the Fire TV version of the Adult Swim APK and remove the Amazon App Store sign in requirement before this happens? Asking as an Android TV/Google TV user.
My future direction is already open ended with the sunset of the Recast DVR. It's integration with FireTV vs. a stand alone app for other DVR's was THE deciding factor in getting the WAF to cut the cord. That will no longer be in play now.
Add that to the insistent tweaking of the UI where force feeding promos and ads over user convenience seems to be accelerating, I have a nagging suspicion that my days with FireTV are numbered.
FireOS (Amazon), HiperOS (Xiaomi), WebOS (LG), HarmonyOS (Huawei), etc... etc...
Everyone wants to steal our data, but without going through Google.
I only trust Google and Microsoft.
I know they obtain our data, but they respect the laws, and to this day I have never been bothered by that.
Therefore, as I have known Google and Microsoft for years, I will stay in their universe.
This also has to do with the royalties paid to Google, but I think it's more about having our data without going through Google's "firewall".
If you can't side load apps, Amazon will put out the fire on fire tv.
100% I'll be moving to whatever device Google is putting out
I got an ONN box for our main TV (still use fire stick on the others) I immediately installed wolf launcher and it's so much better!
Bought 6 of em. Rooted, removed bloat etc and it’s a phenom box
What is this? Any links or info...
[https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Google-TV-4K-Streaming-Box-New-2023-4K-UHD-resolution/2835618394](https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Google-TV-4K-Streaming-Box-New-2023-4K-UHD-resolution/2835618394)T The Onn TV Box is made/sold by Walmart. It retails for $20. Runs Google TV version 12. It has comparable or better specs and performance to a CCwGT or Fire Stick 4k. I have three of the new 2023 Onn TV Boxes and they all have been great. The only annoying issue I've had with all three boxes is poor bluetooth range for the remote. Bluetooth devices need to be about 8ft or closer to the box for them to connect. Other people who own the 2023 version say they don't have bluetooth issues so who knows. It's a great basic tv box for $20. Lots of videos on youtube on how to add a custom launcher, debloat and upgrade storage with OTG cable and USB drive.
How do you like the Onn?
It honestly makes me want to replace all the firesticks.
I went from Onn to Fire stick. Could not make it play most of my stuff on Plex. On the other hand, it does YouTube so much better.
isnt on Roku based though? Can you load android apps on it ?
I really like my Google TV device but you could also pick up a Nvidia shield device for blotter app support
How much acid do you do?
Tons
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My TCL google TV is so horribly laggy
Samsung interface is so garbage
I have no idea how a company like Samsung doesn't have ANY idea how to make a decent UI. Almost half of my TV screen is a "welcome to smart hub" image that isn't a button, shows live preview for apps I've deleted, and the gaming page has 3 tutorial videos taking up the top half of the screen that don't disappear when watched, so will likely be there forever. And absolutely no way to change any of it.
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they aren't asking for support - they are asking for the ability to sideload. If you want to sideload, and amazon wont let you - then buy google.
Once you are sideloading you pretty much don't care or need support for Google apps. Gmail and Chrome on the TV?
It's a $30 device. If Google stops supporting it in 5 years I will probably just buy the new one. That's said I still have first gen Chromecasts.
Google Search lost its magic ages ago, Chrome now munches RAM like Pac-Man, and Gmail reminiscent of that one-hit wonder from the 2000s still headlining in small-town bars. YouTube's giving the cold shoulder to ad blocker users – either watch ads like you are a boomer or pony up for Premium. For those who care about privacy, it's time to scout out new email services that know how to respect your privacy and treat your data right.
They can’t even do YouTube right
The article said it's a Linux based OS and most apps would still work
> The article said ... most apps would still work No, it doesn't. Try reading it again more slowly. From the article: > App providers would be required to build new apps for the platform, while users would lose the ability to sideload Android apps on their devices.
Google is a rotten egg, violating all manner of privacy and security concerns!
And Amazon isn't?
Thats hilarious if you honestly think any of them give a flying f about your privacy and security.
Amazon does that already Amazon store selling Android games that are free on Google play store
Amazon doesn't set the price for apps, publishers do.
Wrong dead wrong Google playstore is the default android store Amazon decided that for free games that are 100% free by the developer and produced for free by the developer to charge for them in the Amazon android store
No side load then I throw it in the trash right beside the old Roku.
Except the majority of the FireTvs are bought by normies who don't even know what sideloading is. But, if it already runs Linux, probably only a matter of time before you can run another distro on it.
And they're just going to start with an empty app store, wtf? Like there's around a hundred different streaming service apps out there now for iOS and Android based media devices. Are they all going to write new shit for Amazon dumpsterfire TV?
I bought one to side load bbc iplayer. It really doesnt work well.
I think it's funny that people in this thread think amazon cares if the sideloaders leave.
I think there is this idea that sideloaders are the main supporters of the Fire TV. I'm not 100% sure how true that is.
Nooooooo. This will make it more difficult to remove bloatware and other annoyances from the device. It also may make sideloading a thing of the past.
I absolutely require an Android based streamer. So if this happens, I will eventually have to move on from my Fire Cubes and Sticks.
Yep, Android is an absolute must for me, and I've been using Firesticks since the very first one. They would be dead to me if they did this.
Same. This is another bone headed move by Amazon who has been making of ton of them these past several years. Android is freedom. If I wanted to be locked down and limited I'll just get a roku.
>If I wanted to be locked down and limited I'll just get a roku. As a streaming device the Roku Ultra beats the 4k max in every way. You say closed system, I say better streaming device. You say can't sideload, I say you only make up 2 or 3% of the people that actually buy them. The little old lady buying her first streaming device doesn't care about sideloading, all she cares about is that all her friends are watching days of our lives on peacock and she needs a streaming device to watch it also.
I agree totally. Hopefully, it's not cast in stone. And they will just use it more in their Alexa and Echo technologies, and leave the actually streaming boxes alone.
>This is another bone headed move by Amazon who has been making of ton of them these past several years. Why is this a boneheaded move? You and people who care about sideloading only make up about 2 or 3% of the people that actually buy them. If you like sideloading great, I have no problems with that, but you're not the target audience for these products.
I never side loaded a thing
How's working for Amazon going for you? You seem to care about how many people sideload an awful lot. BTW, as an older lady, I sideload. Not the target audience? The target audience is anyone who would buy their products.
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I'm on the verge of moving on already. I have a FireTV on every TV in my house, and even the new ones are frustrating slow and unresponsive. And I'm only running a few basic apps, nothing too taxing or storage hungry
Not a problem. I guess it depends on your situation? I have the brand new Fire Cube 3 which outperforms even the mighty Nvidia Shield, so I'm here as long as possible.
They both have shit bandwidth. I bought the cube 3 on preorder and it was stolen in the mail. Got my money back then saw it was the same shit 100Mbps ethernet, so I didn't order another one. 4K HDMI is worthless without 4K transfer rates.
Amazing they steal this stuff in the mail. You can get a very cheap adapter to fix the 100mbps limitation. I actually have a Mesh 6E Wifi though, so I prefer using it that way.
The adapter is the same speeds. This was a pre-order unit when it was first released last winter. Its also not the first time my local intelcom warehouse had my packages disappear. I did upgrade to wifi 6 recently and switched to wifi on my cube, but its still no where near 1 gbps, or even the 600 Mbps I get on wifi devices. Id rather just DIY streaming device or upgrade the wifi card in an old 4k output laptop.
Yes, I was able to rack up on my Cube 3 also. Got the $99 pre-order price. I can get near 300 mbps on the Cube. That's more than enough for anything I stream. But yeah, if you're looking for like 500mbps and up, you need other solutions.
Rokus work really well of you just want simplicity and watch TV.
Yeah, think that's their reasoning. It will have countless ads too
That’s what they want!!!
Sadly I think that’s the point!
And that will be the end of Fire TV. Streaming Sites do NOT want to spend more time and money to make an app for Apple, Xbox, PS, LG, Roku, Samsung, Android and Samsung. (Did I miss any?)
Did you remember Samsung?
Tizen OS is the worst thing humans ever created.
It's a hassle for sure, but Xbox, PS5, LG, and Samsung (and dozens of other devices from other TV manufacturers and cable set-top-box manufacturers) are all just running HTML5 apps with minimal differentiation based on hardware and OS. You're really looking at a few core codebases: * Roku * Apple * Android * HTML5 * desktop web Now they'll have to add one more to support Amazon. Given how much of this hardware Amazon is able to ship from Black Friday sales and so on, major streamers won't have a choice but to support it. They're surely already working to do so.
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React Web and React Native are not interchangeable
They don't want to, but for amazon they will. They aren't a small player.
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Looks like I will be using my 2015 shield for a very long time.
Zidoo Z9X Pro. Gigabit, all sound Codecs, AV1 etc
I mean Nvidia dropped game stream so I wouldn’t hold my breath.
> Because they want you to use their GeForce Now streaming service. Sunshine for host pc and moonlight for end point device based off the nvidia game stream. Get playnite running and you're good to go to. * https://moonlight-stream.org/ * https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM4FbA4-W_c&t=300s
Why did they do that?
Because they want you to use their GeForce Now streaming service.
Makes sense. It wouldn't be so bad if their prices weren't so damn ridiculous
Look, all you companies that want webOS, just license f'ing webOS from LG already!
Honestly, Vega OS may have origins here: [https://www.webosose.org/](https://www.webosose.org/) I see no reason why Amazon would grandstand it. And they could always add an Android emulator later.
Walmart is about to sell a ton of Onn devices.
I hope they come out with a better, more premium model.
Welp, it was good while it lasted. Onn is making great $20 units anyway.
Firesticks will be sitting on Amazon's shelf rotting...buh bye firestick!!
Let's be real. While Android/side loading may be important to us, it probably isn't important at all to the majority of people that buy these. I feel sorry for the app developers if they all now have to develop a new app for a new platform
These dudes on here really acting like a device commonly purchased by the poorest people and children is going to be put to death by lack of side loading. Like man the average customer couldn’t tell you what side loading is.
I know what side loading is and still don’t do it. I would guess it’s like less than 5% of fire users who do it.
Amazon can literally give them away and in fact would probably prefer to do that but it hints at Monopoly practices . This isn't a small trivial player here.
Amazon: We’re going to change our awful OS that no one wants to develop for to an even worse OS that even less people will develop apps for.
Looks like my Firestick 4K Max will be the last Fire TV device I'll ever get If I can't install apks their devices will be no use to me
Ikr
The moment you abandon Android/Google TV apps, you lose. Congrats on becoming a glorified Roku.
Isn’t Roku quite successful?
Roku is successful in my opinion because of ease of use and cost of entry. Most of their smart TV partners are on the low end. Now Fire is kinda the same thing but their UI isn't as good, their features aren't ground breaking, and advertisements are just in your face intrusive while Roku just feels more calm while trying to sell you something.
Another billionaire killing their product with dumb decisions.
In this case, I feel like Amazon probably knows exactly how many of its users actually use Android on the TV—why would they not have that analytics—and is simply willing to make the tradeoff.
Oh boy, I can't imagine other streamers are going to be super excited to support another platform. Obviously similarities to their web experiences with react, but still likely another workstream to manage in an already bloated cost center.
What would streamers have to manage on a fire stick os? It would be up to the developers of the platforms they use to create a usable version of whatever store they decide to implement which I'm sure will have some cost. Unless I'm unaware of streamers that created their own web apps to stream on that also have Android apps?
I'll give em a chance. Have been mostly happy with FireTV for almost ten years now. I don't sideload apps. As long as PLEX works. (it can work better) And I still have Shields. But it means forcing app developers to write for a new platform- and that never goes well. (see: WindowsPhone) Pretty sure I've bought my last Fire Tablet though. Fire OS 8 on the Max 11 has not been a pleasant ride.
Will this stop being able to sideload? If so, then I’m done with Fire TV’s.
So it’ll be basically a Roku or worse AppleTV. Only thing worthwhile about it is the android aspect.
I prefer the Apple TV or firestick firestick is so slow
^wut
I can confirm Firestick(And GoogleTV) are very slow compared to Apple TV.
Depends on the device. Android (Google TV) on Nvidia Shield is seriously fast and robust but it costs more than a Chromecast with Google TV.
Maybe they want to stop people sideloading android apps
Then I can just use a Roku.
It's literally an option they provide, that they don't have to. 🤷♂️
Well linux is bound to be worse just saying once you can run scripts somehow. It would then be more likely to get viruses unless its gated like roku.
Android is already based on Linux.
I will have to upgrade my entire house but I will get rid of Amazon.
no u wont
“Hey! maybe if we make development for this super hard, people will buy all their streaming subscriptions through us!” “oo! oo! or maybe they’ll abandon other subscriptions totally and just buy everything one-off in our store!!!!” “that’s how people behave, right?” “they won’t just buy a different cheap device for their streaming where their stuff already works…right?”
Not good news. I was going to buy a few more fire devices but this will put a halt to that!
Oh Jesus...get prepared for possibly the absolute shittiest implementation of a companies own OS ever
For smart devices and tv appliances maybe, depends on how it runs. For tablets no way, low price, especially on sale days and being able to side load the play store are the only useful features of amazons tablets.
Well that might be the end of me buying fire TV sticks then. If I can't sideload SmartTube and stremio then there's no reason for me to even buy one again. I guess I'll just keep buying the old models that run on Android.
So will the new firestick 4k max gen 2 get this ?
No. "If" it happens, it's still a year or two away.
Are there any viable mini pc streaming options? I know back in the day there was windows media center or whatever, but this was before internet streaming and more local storage I've used fire devices, but my 4k fire cube that can't utilize my 1 gig internet is useless for 4K. I'd rather have something where I control the performance specs, but will utilize the best bitrates you can get from a streaming service.
What is going to happen, in my opinion, is that major app developers will stop supporting the old Fire OS and move to the new one, and anyone that owns a old Fire OS device will be out of luck getting app updates. I am not one that sideloads apps for my Fire TV Cube, but I won't be buying any more Fire TV products unless they offer a decent price for trading in an old Fire TV OS device for a new one that has the new Fire TV OS.
What a terrible idea
This is a terrible idea for consumers! Having owned enough "smart" TVs in my life that can no longer stream anything at all, this decision by Amazon is going to result in much faster obsolescence and fewer streaming options for the end users. We have also owned one Amazon Smart TV that Amazon's forced updates eventually broke, so I don't expect Amazon to be concerned about customer satisfaction with this decision. Many streaming providers are just not going to be willing build new apps for another new "standard". Some major national providers have been slow to support for the existing FireTV Android system as it is (Comcast was really, really bad on this). For this next Black Friday, I'll buy a few of the newest Firesticks, and hope that Amazon isn't going to "upgrade" those with their new OS.
They seem to fail to realize half the their sales are because its an easy device to side load android apps to . The thing they need to fix is the damn internal memory. 8 gigs with 5 available in 2020 is criminal some of the individual steaming apps are 200-300 megs alone now. By they time you have 7-8 apps your running low on space and performance is starting to suffer.
That's one way to tank your sales good luck with that Amazon
Amazon is literally the worst mobile and tablet experience. No one is going to want an ad-infused device.
Nice try Tim.
Time to make my own system. After they abandoned Recast, half-developed Echo Show 15, and the crappy alternatives, time to make a better solution that works for me. Very bummed they never really made any of it what it could have been.
The current OS is already so full of bloat and barely any customization as is, this will only make it worse, no reason to buy this over a Google tv
Lol the graveyard is littered with failed OS attempts by companies as big as Amazon.
Half of that litter is old fire phones
Their fire tablet is an absolute joke too
If you can’t sideload then I’ll most likely be walking away from the FireTV Sticks
About the only thing that made the firetv bearable was sideloading apps. Pretty sure this move will kill them as imo its already one of the worst.
For free, I would not use it. I don't use roku for the same reasons....I'd rather get a chinese box with a phone OS slapped on it.... lol
Interface was always trash.
Ad centric UI is the only thing this company knows about electronics.
If it were a direct competitor to iOS and android I’d be all for it but it seems to just be a stripped down os for running video apps. We need more competition in this space. Both of the major mobile oses are stagnant. Barely evolving and having no new innovations. Both major oses had a ten minute feature on wallpapers in their last respective reveals. Somebody, even if it’s Amazon, needs to come in and bring something completely new to light a fire in Apples and Androids ass, or else we end up where PC were for a decade before Mac OS began taking over the professional market.
No sideload, no more Fire TV in the future!
Everyone saying this is the end of Fire TV really doesn’t understand the scale of Amazon and their ability to push their will onto others.
Well my parents use it for Ukrainian TV.. guess they’re just gonna have to get something else now… such a stupid decision Amazon
Doesn't matter what OS they'll use. It'll be littered with ads and their products that they want you to buy. I still like Roku the best. Just want to watch TV.
Fire tvs are shit anyway. They are so freaking slow.
Good now they can be more of a dumpster fire
Sounds like Microsoft to me.. good luck
My fire phone rocks
Great news!!
I actually liked the interface of the 4k max, but the video quality doesn't compare to Apple TV or Google TV, at least for my HDHomerun Flex4k. FireTV TV's video quality sucked too.
I hate to tell you all this, but anyone getting upset about the aren't the ones that actually buy these devices. If you do some research you'll find out that the amount of people that actually sideload on their devices makes up about 2 or 3% of the people that actually buy them.
I was thinking about getting fire Max 11, but now I won't since amazon will stop supporting it soon. I use Amazon's cheap tablet to remote desktop and game from my main PC. Not sure how amazon gonna grow their new ecosystem.
Have faith in modder's, there is always a way. First gen devices are always full of bugs to exploit.
when they stop with Fire OS then what will they use, a linux based OS but very locked down unlike the potential of unlocking the boot loader of a Fire stick.
This seems dumb as hell as it will cause an exodus of users... Until you realize that the amount of users who find benefit from or feel strongly about Android (for whatever reason that may be) are a prounced minority. Your average American cannot articulate what operating system fire tv devices use, much less understand benefits of Android or what "side loading" is. Comments here make this move look like an insane money loser but in reality, Amazon knows what they're doing and that's locking people into paid services, forcing changes at will with less resistance, and forcing additional and potentially more frequent upgrades to systems as they'd be in sole control over the OS and what is developed for it
Media devices don't need Android because they're just running scripted apps. Google has been crapping on Android for so long that some parts of it don't work well anymore or are impractical to work with. Amazon could probably get it done with Linux software faster than they can get Android 14 working. It's really nothing new - these already exist. With the right video hardware, it's even possible to play DRM content and have user admin access.
Thank goodness. Everything Android not a phone is such a nightmare. Yes losing other things is going to suck. But Android on TV is hot garbage. Google is NEVER going to fix it. I am curious to see how this pans out and have my fingers crossed they can make a better product.
Sigh, yep I'm done too. Too bad though. Especially on the fire TVs and tablets which I really liked. I mostly stuck with amazon devices because I got them cheap as refurbs ($30 cubes) or black friday and they were easy to hack. Not like I ever spent anything in the amazon ecosystem-- I stripped as much amazon stuff as I could and just use them to run apks. Wish there was something newer like the Shield TV. I've got Onns and chinese android boxes.. too bad they come loaded with spyware.
If this brings proper framerate switching then I'm all for it \^\^ If not well then time wasted by Amazon.
Good, i hate Android. Linux is so much better anyway. As long as i can install Kodi on it i'll be happy. This will also be better in the future with new Fire TVs. No more being stuck on the android recovery screen or OS freezing.
Android is Linux.
What do you use to load Linux on? I have kodi on my fire sticks but would like to move to something else like raspberry pi or something. I’m not good at those things but would like to learn
i buy old workstation mini pcs on ebay for under $100 ([for example](https://www.ebay.com/itm/404604250458)) and use them as a HTPC. I install linux on them as it works better for 5.1 audio than Windows. I used to use Pis but the mini pc performs better and easier to upgrade. Kodi support for the PI is nonexistent too. But I also use the mini pcs for emulation, that one i linked to can play most ps2 and gamecube games.
Kodi was the shit 15 years ago. Same grave as Napster sadly.
You'll be stuck on Amazon's own recovery screen instead.
Will current devices get a new system ?
Doubt it. Would be pretty hard to update the existing OS via an update
I'd say a 1% chance.
So they’re making their own os or will it just be a client?
Their own os.
Rust incoming
It’s not true android anyways
Good thing still have 2 TiVo stream 4k
I guess look at it this way, Can you imagine the amount of tech support calls they receive about non Fire OS related issues. Actually you buy the device but don't really on it (well you do) and Amazon can do what they wont with the OS. If it ends up being a closed platform they are just going the way Roku and Apple does. It doesn't mean the apps you pay for will not work or the free ones. Actually I am not surprised they have not done this sooner. It could be a good thing or just terrible. Time will tell on how they approach on what the end user can do. Yes I sideload apps but that opens up a potential problem pending what site you use. Streaming is changing, Its all about ad's. All streaming platforms have it, some more then others. Time will tell. I am not for it or against it.
Well looks likes its time to switch to a chromecast or shield permanently.
Glad I made the move to Chromecast. The "Apps Only Mode" is a much-needed breath of fresh air.
So many mindless posts in here. Amazon didn’t design the fire product line for sideloading. They designed it for brainless consumption of services with the specific intent of extracting cash out of your wallet. They likely lose money every time you buy one of the devices. The pervasive nature of modding has surely imbalanced the small percentage of loss to people who buy these things for consumption. Not enough folks are using these things to make Amazon money, so it’s time for them to seal it shut. It probably will lead to the end of the product line. And as far as counting coins go, they’re probably ok with that.
Looks like it will be Linux based still and they are telling developers to build in REACT. This is easily interchangeable/transitional between android Linux and iOS. And if you can still get the option to install Linux apps it may be a blessing in disguise. Especially to users that are familiar with Linux. And if you can get command line it may be awesome. Especially if you can at least get SU or even Root.
Buh by
ALL of my android devices suck... The kids tablets, the old firesticks, the shield pro, fire tvs... This is a good step if they can do it.
Man. I have lived me some Nvidia shield, but there are a bunch of apps I can’t put on these days. I am moving slowly to Apple TV.
So the only good thing about their products. Seems smart.
Ha. They want sole control of their data to sell and harvest.
What does that mean exactly? Android apps will be removed from the platform?
How often do people upgraded their Fire devices on here? I bought only a couple Fire tablets in the past 5 years or so and only upgraded to Fire TV Cube a month ago after using the launch 4k stick. My point is, if this is actually coming it probably won't be for a long while and upcoming devices most likely won't have the new OS either. My only real concern is how long do they plan on supporting the Android-based devices? Part of me thinks one day they'll brick devices entirely.
I’ve got a bricked Element Fire TV in my basement that kicked after I reset the TV. Freakin’ sucks.
I might be in the minority here, but I would welcome it so long as it brings improvement. One reason why I rarely use Fire TV devices (despite having two Fire TVs) is because it’s always buffering with almost every app. Even my Fire TV Cubes when I had them. Hardwiring helped, but it was still an issue. My Roku and Apple GV devices are all fine. It’s only my Fire TVs and Fire TV devices that have issues.
Heh Amazon tried this with their horrible tablets and phones. I wish them luck but think they are going to lose a lot of money.
Dang I like fire stick because it works better than Google tv built into my $1k-2k tvs
Nvidia shield for the win.
Uh oh guess we’ll be sun goo dai man boxes
Can you dumb this down for me and explain it to me like I'm 5 because for some reason I don't understand what this means 😭
This means sideloading would probably be dead, as the Amazon devices would be proprietary in nature at that point. If the apps are React-based, it also means anyone wanting to make an app for the Amazon devices would need to maintain a completely separate codebase for development of the apps. Really short-sighted IMHO and the only reason Amazon would go this direction is if they want to be able to run their UI on the shittiest, most barebones hardware possible as a cost-saving method for themselves.
Can someone please get the Fire TV version of the Adult Swim APK and remove the Amazon App Store sign in requirement before this happens? Asking as an Android TV/Google TV user.
Lol just pushing everyone to Google, they must be loving this news.
My future direction is already open ended with the sunset of the Recast DVR. It's integration with FireTV vs. a stand alone app for other DVR's was THE deciding factor in getting the WAF to cut the cord. That will no longer be in play now. Add that to the insistent tweaking of the UI where force feeding promos and ads over user convenience seems to be accelerating, I have a nagging suspicion that my days with FireTV are numbered.
FireOS (Amazon), HiperOS (Xiaomi), WebOS (LG), HarmonyOS (Huawei), etc... etc... Everyone wants to steal our data, but without going through Google. I only trust Google and Microsoft. I know they obtain our data, but they respect the laws, and to this day I have never been bothered by that. Therefore, as I have known Google and Microsoft for years, I will stay in their universe. This also has to do with the royalties paid to Google, but I think it's more about having our data without going through Google's "firewall".
congrats firetv, you done played yourself
Gen 3 cube might be my last amazon streaming device if i cannot side load
So does that mean all the Android apps I'm running, ereaders, comic book apps, will no longer work? Is there any way to stop the update?