When comparing SteamOS vs Fire OS, the Slant community recommends SteamOS for most people. In the question“What are the best operating systems for a Home Theatre PC?” SteamOS is ranked 4th while Fire OS is ranked 16th. The most important reason people chose SteamOS is:
The OS natively supports Nvidia, Intel, and AMD graphics processors.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Native graphics processor support
The OS natively supports Nvidia, Intel, and AMD graphics processors.
Pro Streaming service integration (under development)
Valve is in talks with streaming companies such as Spotify and Netflix to bring their features to SteamOS.
Pro For entertainment, it just works
What media center software do for videos, it does for games (and later videos).
Pro Sideloading
Since it is based on Android you can sideload any Android app.
Pro Cheap devices
Amazon FireTV devices are cheap and have often a discount.
Cons
Con Hard to install
If you've installed Arch you're probably fine, but for those used to simple installs like (Ubuntu to name just one) you should prepare some patience, determination, and painkillers. Good news is, it's getting better (it's very young).
Con Not built around the desktop experience
SteamOS is, first and foremost, meant to act as a gaming console - it doesn't ship with even some of the most basic applications, such as a file manager or image viewer. As a result, using SteamOS as your primary operating system would require a fair bit of work.
Con Ads
There are plenty of ads for Amazon Prime or products.
Con Amazon account
Needs an Amazon account.
Con Focuses on Amazon content
The main purpose of the stick is to provide a portal to Amazon's various online services.
Con Proprietary
The UI is proprietary software.