Amazon Developer Newsletter: January 2026

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Amazon Developer

Enhance the TV experience for your customers

New Fire TV UI experience
Coming in February 📺 Fire TV's redesigned UI sees up to 20-30% gains in speed for customers as they browse content faster, pin up to 20 apps, and access quick controls with a long-press of the Home button.
Read the announcement ›
Integrate the features today ›
The Ultimate Guide: TV Development with React Native
Our free eBook, co-authored with Callstack, provides years of OTT app expertise in a go-to manual for building high-quality TV apps across tvOS, Android TV, and Fire TV. Learn more about 10-foot UI concepts, focus-driven navigation, and performance considerations for multi-device workflows.
Download the guide ›
Force update guidelines
Ensure critical updates reach users without disruption. Configure force updates strategically — wait 24 hours after launch, avoid using during staged rollouts, and verify device compatibility before enabling.
Learn best practices ›

Recent updates

Vega SDK 0.22 Release
SDK 0.22 features the new SDK Manager for easier CLI upgrades, one-click crash symbolication from Studio, and new performance KPIs to measure input key latency and consecutive frame drops. Vega developer tools now support MCP server, enabling Vega-specific context for AI coding assistants.
⚠️ Important: Previous references to kepler have been replaced with vega. This release includes backwards support for the kepler_sdk_path, but it will be discontinued in the next version, so you will need to update any scripts and workflows to use vega commands.
Create a tester account without recurring OTP prompts
Eliminate recurring one-time password prompts during testing. Streamline your testing workflow by setting up Amazon Business accounts for your testers, so they can focus on finding bugs instead of managing authentication hurdles.
App size reduction guidelines
Improve download rates and reduce installation abandonment. Use system fonts, compress audio to MP3, optimize images with WebP, and enable code minification to help more users install faster.

Developer highlights

Ring early developer access
Ring's APIs are now in developer early access! Build fast, launch easily, and reach millions with the new Ring Appstore. Create apps that turn Ring footage and data into actionable intelligence for homes and businesses.
Request early access ›
Amazon CES 2026
Take a walk through our Experience Area, and discover how AI is transforming everyday life across Alexa+, Fire TV, Ring, and Kindle.
Watch the video ›
More videos from CES ›


Visit the Amazon Developer Portal for all the updates, documentation, and resources.

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