Amazon’s new Vega OS-based streaming stick has a Spotify problem

I recently got my hands on Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick 4K Select, which is the company’s first TV device running Vega OS instead of the legacy Android-based Fire OS. All in all, the experience looks and feels just like using any other Fire TV device, with a few differences.

Perhaps the biggest downside: There is no Spotify app for the Select stick. Instead, consumers are being asked to install an app called “Spotify Connect.” This app then prompts them to ask Alexa to “Connect to Spotify” and then cast music from the Spotify app on their phone, if they want to listen to something on their TV.

Alternatively, consumers can also use the Alexa Spotify integration with the device, according to Amazon spokesperson Melanie Garvey. “Both options provide full access to your Spotify content,” Garvey told me via email.

The absence of a full-blown Spotify app is nonetheless confusing, and highlights some of the challenges Amazon is facing as it strives to transition from Android to Vega for its streaming devices.