Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick HD is faster, thinner, runs a more locked down operating system

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The new Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is a $35 media streamer that plugs directly into the HDMI port of your TV, allowing you to stream video from Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and a bunch of other sources.

Compared with the previous-gen model, Amazon says the new Fire TV Stick HD (2026) is 30 percent faster and 30 percent slimmer. It also now supports WiFi 6 (up from WiFi 5) and has a USB-C port (rather than micro USB). The new Fire TV Stick HD is also Amazon’s second device to ship with Vega OS instead of the Android-based Fire OS. And that’s… not really a good thing.

Amazon introduced Vega OS with the launch of the Fire TV Stick 4K Select in 2025, positioning it as a platform that could support video streaming, game streaming, and Amazon’s Alexa+ AI features.

But the new operating system is also more tightly locked down, supports fewer apps, and does not allow you to sideload Android or Fire OS applications. From Amazon’s perspective, that’s a feature and not a bug. Folks have been sideloading piracy apps onto Fire TV sticks and selling them as unlimited streaming devices for years. Amazon has been playing whack-a-mole with those apps, and has recently begun blocking installation of some apps used for piracy.

By using an OS that’s not based on Android for its newer streamers, Amazon is making it much harder to use its hardware for piracy. But it’s also making it much harder to install all third-party apps that may not be available in the Amazon Appstore, including legitimate streaming apps, games, or utilities.

It can also now draw power directly from a USB port on a TV, no power adapter required, although it’s far from clear if that’s a good idea.

The new Fire TV Stick HD is available for pre-order from Amazon for $35, and it’s expected to begin shipping April 29.

It’s powered by a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor and features 8GB of storage, support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 LE, an HDMI connector and US B-C port (described as working for power only).

The tiny media streamer measures 91.5 c 21.1 x 14.5mm (3.6″ x 0.8″ x 0.5″) and weighs 35.8 grams (1.2 ounces).

press release (Japanese)