Amazon job ad hints that they will be dropping Android

Amazon has relied on Google’s Android operating system to power its Fire series of devices. But the version Amazon ran is a forked version of Android, meaning that at the end of the day, Amazon is still somewhat reliant on Google. That could be changing soon as a recent Amazon job ad reveals the company could be dropping the use of Android.

The job listing calls for a Fire TV Experience Software Development Engineer. The description says that the person hired for the job will “Implement and deliver features on the Fire TV client codebase as it transitions from FOS/Android to native/Rust and React Native.” This pretty much confirms the company’s plans to move away from using Android.

This is not the first time we’re hearing about this. Last November, there was another report that suggested that Amazon could be dropping Android. One of the main reasons cited in the previous report is because Amazon uses the AOSP version of Android. This version lags behind the mainstream version you see on most smartphones today.

Android also carries over a lot of “technical debt” which bogs the system down. Amazon turning to its own operating system means that they can start fresh. They will also be able to create something that’s more uniquely theirs and better suited to their needs.