Prepare your apps for Fire OS 8 on new Fire TV and Fire tablet devices
Today, Amazon announced the new Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen) and Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen). Both deliver more powerful streaming experiences and include Wi-Fi 6 support (Fire TV Stick 4K Max includes Wi-Fi 6E) while the 10.1″ Fire HD 10 tablet performs 25% faster than the previous generation for overall better entertainment and game play. Continue to grow engagement with these new, more performant Fire TV and tablet devices.
All three devices run on Fire OS 8 (FOS8), which incorporates the privacy and security enhancements from Android 11 (R, API level 30). To take advantage of the new features, test your Fire TV apps and optimize for the latest FOS version to provide the best customer experience. No action required for Fire tablet apps as devices already run on FOS8.
Fire OS is based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and maps to the major releases of Android. Fire OS 8 is based on Android 11 (R, API level 30) and includes several enhancements to media streaming, graphics improvements, and security.
In order to test your app on Android 11 (API 30), setup an Android device emulator image following the steps in the Android docs:
- In Android Studio, go to Settings > Appearance & Behavior > System Settings > Android SDK
- Select Android 11.0 (R) from the list and click OK and then FINISH once the installation is complete.
3. Once this specific Android version is installed, click Create Device from the Device Manager window, and then select TV > Android TV (1080p). Note: This is only a test virtual device and the future specific hardware specs will differ.
4. Under Other Images, select Android 11.0 (Release R, API Level 30) and click Next. You’ll name the virtual device as a Fire TV / Fire OS 8 testing unit and click Finish.
- Test your app’s loading time. Read our recent guide on how to measure and improve app startup times in Fire OS. In addition, optimize your app to prevent any blank loading screens or heavy resource fetching.
- Understand the updates for Android 11. This Fire OS version is based on Android 11 and has several major updates You’ll want to review the Android 11 overview, migration guide, framework changes, behavioral changes, differences report, and release notes. All these resources will help you understand the updates and any areas to update in your code.
- Review the Amazon Appstore pre-submission checklist. This list outlines the requirements your app would need to meet prior to publishing on the Appstore.
