We already said it: "Fire TVs with Vega OS could be like the Apple TV, but in a bad way, and even worse." And we weren't wrong. I have to admit I would have liked to have one to try out for myself, but I wasn't going to spend what they're asking for a product that I'd literally be testing for less than an hour. Fire TV 4K Select now available for purchase on Amazon, and as it has already reached the first users, we can see reviews in media such as YouTube.
Virtually all of these video reviews speak poorly of the Fire TV 4K Select. The video below (you can add the original audio in English if you prefer) He even says it's worse than they expected.As I recently explained, it's reminiscent of the Apple TV in a bad way: great for playing legitimate content, very fluid, everything it does it well... but it doesn't let you do anything "strange."
The Fire TV 4K Select is closed and very immature
There is a part of information for geeks, which is the format support and hardware. Some complain about the fact that it only has 1GB of RAM, but this shouldn't be a big issue if Vega OS is well optimized. There are no complaints about 4K, Dolby Atmos, and similar features.
The Fire TV 4K Select It has the same interface as the "spikes" that use Fire OSAmazon's Android-based operating system. If something works well, why mess with it? But inside, it's very different. It's Linux-based, and there are no developer options. Nothing.
The apps section is the worst. It does contain the most popular apps for streaming all kinds of content, such as Netflix, Disney+, etc., but not others like a simple file explorer. In fact, the operating system version is currently at v1.1, and you can't even use USB storage. In tests, it detects it, but it can't be accessed.
No party without Kodi
The worst is Kodi is not in the app store of Vega OS. Kodi is an essential application on any device for entertainment, and even can be used on webOSThe fact that it's not running Vega OS makes the Fire TV 4K Select worse than the closed Apple TV. Apple's TV box at least has an App Store full of apps, and you can install Kodi with Sideloadly.
Of course, Vega OS does not support Android applications, and sideloading of any kind isn't possible. Currently, you can only install apps from their app store, and right now, it couldn't be more empty.
Let's not lose hope
Don't lose hope with the Fire TV 4K Select. It's based on Linux, and although it's not open source, it's more than likely that a jailbreak will be released in the future. What is a jailbreak? If you're unfamiliar with this term, it's the act of freeing a device so that it can be modified. Without cheating or searching the internet, I think the first time a jailbreak was mentioned was shortly after the introduction of the original iPhone in 2007. What was then called iPhoneOS didn't even allow you to change the wallpaper, and having a jailbroken phone was practically mandatory. 18 years later, with more apps accepted in the App Store and with components like the Control Center, the Scene has almost been forgotten.
But on Apple TV it still makes sense, at least if you want to install Kodi once per update and not renew the certificate every week.
Vega OS is now like that iPhoneOS 1.0, and it'll surely be different in a few months. If you ask me what I think, I think there will be a jailbreak, there will be Kodi, there will be Stremio, and even AceStream, so the Fire TV 4K Select will be a good option. Let's wait and see.