Google is known for their innovation and their products, most of the time, they’re shown with a big reveal and critical acclaim, however, this project was kept in the sidelines, not an announcement or even being acknowledged, let’s take a look at Google’s newest OS Fuchsia.

 

Back then in 2016 a mysterious Github repository surfaced, it was from Google and it was described as a new OS, but with Google not giving any official statements, speculation was wild, Going anywhere from : Fuschia is an Android replacement, to Google is trying to enter the Computer Market, and Google is pushing for the embedded demographic.

Fast forward to 2017, we’re still in the dark, Google is not giving any details about this mysterious new project, but they’re still updating the repository, one of the most interesting updates was an User Interface, and while it was not possible to just click to install, some tech-savvy people managed to compile and install the OS, it’s quite a departure from Android’s now familiar UI, but it just helped speculation.

Fuschia drops both Linux and Java, two things Android enthusiasts will relate to Android very closely, a bold move to be sure. Instead Fuschia uses a new Microkernel developed by Google, and it’s written in Flutter, another Google product.

Of course,  speculation is all we have to go by, people guessed Google wanted to move from Linux, to have a more close control over their OS, while Java is more complicated, people in the known will remember there is an ongoing legal battle between Oracle and Google, using Flutter is a no-brainer move for Google regardless of the outcome. Flutter being compatible with Android and iOS is just the cherry on top.

Despite Google’s secrecy, small breakthroughs are being made, some people have been running the OS on Pixel Books, it was even found that Google developed an Android Emulator that supported Fuchsia!

We’re now in 2019, Google is still developing Fuschia, alongside Chrome OS and Android, it was even mentioned in Google I/O 2019, sadly it was just a name drop, but maybe this was pointing to more public appearances.

Soon enough it was said in an interview, according to the Verge, that fuchsia was more of a learning ground, it’s being used as a sort of experiment, where the folks at Google can experiment with new technologies, in a new, clean environment, where they are not burdened by compatibility, or old legacy code, a place to test state-of-the-art technologies and use that to better the existing technologies, Android and Chrome OS.

Fuschia has been an interesting piece of work, with all the things Google likes to experiment with, a new OS seemed really interesting and exciting, it might not be the new revolution we were expecting, but it’s interesting to look at, if anything it helped people to think about new and exciting ideas.

However, this might not be the end of the road, projects get closed down and reopened all the time, in this case, Fuschia just might need to find the right time to take over Android, technology advances are fickle, remember the Google Glasses? Touted as the next step in mobile technology, quickly faded away, concerns about performance and security were too big, and while it has not been seen in public, it has found success in enterprises.

In the end, it’s a bit disappointing, it’s not the great new OS that many people expected, but nevertheless it’s an interesting thing to keep tabs on, Flutter supports Fushcia, and there is a whole lot of documentation, as per Google’s standards, so even if it’s not the end all be all OS we expected, it’s still an interesting piece of history.

Author: Ing. Erwin Gonzalez