Overview of Amazon Cloud App Program
Fire OS Apps in the Amazon Cloud App Program are delivered to Vega OS Fire TV devices by Amazon cloud app streaming. Amazon cloud app streaming allows the deployment of existing Fire TV apps to customers on Vega OS Fire TV devices. If your app runs on a Fire TV Stick 4K Max and meets the prerequisites below, it can run on a Vega OS Fire TV device using cloud app streaming.
Amazon cloud app streaming deploys and runs your Fire OS APK in a dedicated container in the AWS cloud. When a customer on a Vega OS Fire TV device installs your app, they get a mini-wrapper VPKG app. This app works like a browser that points to a single site. The mini app connects to your Fire OS APK running in its cloud container. The customer can then interact with your app the same as they do on a Fire OS Fire TV Stick.
Customers know that Amazon cloud app streaming delivers their app when they see the "Amazon cloud-hosted app" tagline on the app detail page. This tagline appears in the Amazon Appstore on the Vega OS Fire TV device. Customers experience the core features of your app on the Vega OS Fire TV device as they would on other Fire TV Stick devices.
Amazon cloud app streaming is available only for apps that Amazon selects. If your app is not available on Vega OS Fire TV devices through cloud app streaming but you think it should be, reach out to Developer Support with the Cloud App Program category and General Inquiries subject. Include the ASIN along with details supporting your request.
Architecture
The customer initiates an Amazon cloud app streaming session by opening the dedicated mini app installed on their Vega OS Fire TV device from the Appstore. The session creates a Fire OS container in the AWS cloud and launches the Fire OS APK in the container. The app in the container streams user interface elements down to the Vega OS Fire TV device through a UDP stream. The mini app sends user input events to the cloud container, also through a UDP stream. The app in the cloud sends content play requests to the device for local streaming and decoding. The client composite renders the user interface with the decoded video content to present a seamless experience to the end customer. The following diagram shows how the components interact.
To view the complete end-to-end architecture overview, see Amazon Cloud App Streaming Details.
Prerequisites
- Active Amazon developer account.
- Fire OS app is already published in the Amazon Appstore.
- App compatibility with Fire TV Stick 4K Max.
- App compatibility with Fire OS 7.
- App is not a game or utility.
- Amazon has determined that your Fire OS app is compatible and eligible for participation in the Cloud App Program.
Things to keep in mind
- The system uses your existing Fire TV Stick 4K Max APK, so no additional development effort is needed.
- App communication with your service back-end is as normal from the app instance running in the cloud.
- The Vega OS Fire TV device receives content streams directly, not through the cloud.
- Apps that require full use of the device IP (for example, for local ad targeting) have the option to enable IP tunneling. If your app needs IP tunneling, please reach out to Developer Support with the Cloud App Program category and General Inquiries subject. Please include the ASIN along with details supporting your request.
Deployment of app updates
Update your app on Amazon cloud app streaming by following the standard app publishing process:
- Upload a new APK and conduct LAT testing on Fire OS devices.
- Validate your app on Amazon cloud app streaming using Cloud App Validation (when that feature becomes available).
- Publish your app to Live and wait for any Fire OS device staged rollout to complete.
- Your app is validated for cloud app streaming, and subsequently made available to any Vega OS Fire TV devices you have targeted.
Cloud App Program fee
Amazon cloud app streaming is free of charge for at least the first nine months of operation, giving you ample time to deploy a Vega OS version of your app. After that period, Amazon anticipates charging a fee based on the number of monthly active users. Exact pricing is available at least six months before billing starts.
Migration to your own Vega OS app
The Amazon developer documentation contains information about how you can build and publish your own Vega OS app. To learn more, see the Vega SDK for Fire TV. After your Vega OS app is live, Amazon replaces the mini app with your full Vega OS app through an app update. App data from the cloud streamed app does not migrate to the Vega OS app. The Vega OS app behaves as a fresh installation. If customers have auto-updates turned off, they receive a notification about the mandatory update when they launch your app. This app update flow doesn’t disrupt active app sessions.
Last updated: Apr 03, 2026
