Amazon has a launched a new Fire TV Stick and it could stop you streaming Sky TV illegally.
It’s no secret that millions of UK homes are now using so-called ‘dodgy’ Fire TV Sticks to get their fix of entertainment. These modified devices – which continue to be readily available via online marketplaces – offer full access to premium content such as Sky Sports and blockbuster movies for a small yearly fee – some even include shows and boxsets for free.
With so many people moving away from official providers, adapted Fire TV Sticks continue to be a concern for firms such as Sky.
“If you speak to friends and colleagues, [or] you watch football, people will know that you can get jail-broken Fire Sticks, and you can access pirated services on Fire Sticks,” said Nick Herm, Sky’s chief operating officer during an event earlier this year.
“There are football fans who literally have shirts printed out that say Fire Sticks on them.”
Of course, this isn’t Amazon’s fault, and they certainly aren’t taking any blame. The retailer sells its Fire TV Sticks completely legally and only pre-installs official apps such as Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video.
READ MORE: Millions of PC owners get 7-day warning – check your laptop now or you could be at risk
The issues arise from the ability to side-load unofficial applications, which then offer the free streaming software to be installed.
That has made it impossible for Amazon to stop crooks using its devices – but things could be about to change. Amazon has just announced the launch of a new Fire TV Stick called the 4K Select.
This more wallet-friendly gadget is not only slightly cheaper but also offers access to pin-sharp 4K visuals. It has also ditched Amazon’s Fire OS operating system and switched to something called Vega instead.
Perhaps the biggest change to this new software is its compatibility with apps.
As spotted by the team at Cordbusters, it appears only approved software can be installed via Amazon’s marketplace. That means unofficial applications won’t work, and that could spell the end of streaming illegally on these devices.
“For enhanced security, only apps from the Amazon Appstore on Fire TV are available for download,” Amazon confirmed.
Of course, this won’t block current Fire TV Sticks from dodgy apps, but it could change things in the future.