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When Amazon announce a new line of Kindle Fire tablets, which has inevitably become every now, they also introduce a new version of Fire OS. If you’ve never used a Kindle Fire tablet, Fire OS is Amazon’s fork of Android, it’s less of a skin as you’d find from Samsung, Sony or HTC, but rather Amazon Android and not Google Android. That does mean that there are some compromises to be had with Fire OS, but on the whole Amazon has done a pretty good job of offering a consistent and coherent operating system for their users. This time around, Amazon is introducing version 4 of Fire OS, dubbed ‘Sangria’.
The headlining change in Sangria is that Amazon is now working with Android 4.4.4 KitKat, which will be a nice change for developers looking to bring their Android apps over to Fire OS. Elsewhere, Amazon have packed Sangria will all sorts of UI refinements and changes that should tighten up the overall experience, and thanks to the that KitKat base, things should be a little quicker as well. The biggest new feature included here however, is the introduction of profiles. With profiles, a whole family can enjoy one device with all of their own apps and accounts synced up. Thus allowing them to enjoy their favorite games, books and movies without having anyone else’s choice get in the way.
The profile system really comes into its own when kids are involved. Working with Amazon’s Free Time, Kids will be able to use the device safely, and however their parents like. Not to mention, Amazon has a whole bunch of entertainment lined up for kids that will help pacify your little ones for as long as yous say, not the other way round. There are other features included in Fire OS 4, like Firefly which enables you to effectively shop with your device’s camera and ASAP, a service that streams a little part of the next episode in your new obsession to help you get into it even quicker. All-in-all, this is certainly an incremental update and you can find out more about it down below, but it’s one that will please the average consumer and those that share their devices.
Fire OS 4 Sangria will ship with the new Fire HD and Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 tablets, and will land on other Fire devices – including the Fire Phone – starting early next year.