Amazon launches a faster Fire TV Stick 4K with a new remote design

Amazon has launched a faster Fire TV Stick 4K with a redesigned remote, running its own Vega operating system rather than Android. That switch also removes sideloading, and the Digital Markets Act cannot require Amazon to restore it, because none of its operating systems is designated.

Amazon has launched the Fire TV Stick 4K, which it says reaches content 20 to 40% faster than a rival stick at a similar price. It comes with a redesigned remote and shipped today in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It cannot install apps from outside Amazon’s store.

The remote has an asymmetric shape, a metal home button and a customisable star button, and sells alone for $14.99. The stick drops Android for Amazon’s Vega system, and 9to5Google reported that Vega kills sideloading.

Amazon’s announcement does not mention that. It told The Athletic the switch was to support creators and protect customers, because piracy can expose users to malware and fraud. Its public statement cites only flexibility.

In Europe that removal is lawful, because of what Amazon is not. The Digital Markets Act obliges gatekeepers to open designated operating systems to rival software.

Article 6(4) says a gatekeeper “shall allow and technically enable the installation and effective use of third-party software applications or software application stores” on its operating system. Hence sideloaded app stores on iPhones here.

Amazon is a designated gatekeeper, but only two of its services carry the label, Amazon Marketplace and Amazon Advertising. Neither is an operating system.

Apple tried to have its designation read narrowly and lost its EU court challenge in July. Its iOS and iPadOS stay listed, with Alphabet’s Android Mobile and Microsoft’s Windows.

Amazon has no operating system among the 23 designated services, so Article 6(4) cannot reach Fire TV in any member state.

Price is the other half. Amazon raised device prices overnight in August, taking the 4K Max from $60 to $85. The new 4K arrives at $59.99, the Max’s old price.

Amazon blamed memory and storage costs. The new stick has 8 GB of storage, and Americans can have it for $29.99 during Prime Big Deal Days.

Its European exposure is growing elsewhere. The Commission signalled in June that AWS and Azure appear to meet the gatekeeper test, with a decision due this year.

Alexa+ ships on the stick and runs on Fire TV in 11 countries. The AI Act has required since 2 August that people be told when they deal with an AI system.

Amazon has removed a capability from a device it sells across the EU, just as the same one is forced onto its rivals. Whether the Commission examines Fire TV is the open question.