Rumors have arrived indicating that Google is working on a new OS. And no, it’s not an update to Android or the Chrome OS. In fact, the new system is not even based on the Linux kernel.
The move is surprising because every single operating system developed by Google uses the Linux Kernel. It has powered Google hardware for years.
The new OS is reportedly being called Fuchsia. Although Google hasn’t officially announced anything regarding the OS, it released its details on Github.
Presenting Fuchsia
The allegedly new Fuchsia OS runs on the Magenta kernel which is based on the LittleKernel project on Github. Magenta is being designed as a competitor to commercial embedded OSes such as ThreadX. The Magenta kernel is designed to run on embedded devices, smartphones and desktop computers.
The interface of the new OS is the new Flutter UI and the programming language that is used for the OS is Dart.
The renderer that is being is called Escher, which supports light diffusion, soft shadows, and other visual effects. Soft shadows and light diffusion is also a major part of Material Design so it is possible that both Flutter and Escher are also designed with Material Design UI in mind.
Fuchsia is being designed with support for both 32-bit and 64-bit ARM CPUs and also 64-bit PCs.
Why Is a New OS Being Developed?
Right now, no definite answers exist as to why Google is developing a new OS. The most obvious guess would be that Google plans on replacing either Chrome OS or Android, or even both, with Fuchsia.
Maybe Fuchsia is being developed to cater to the smart home accessories by Google such as the OnHub router and Google Home or Chromecast.
It could also be the case that Google is just using Fuchsia for experimenting. No plans for further development and release have been set for now. Only time will tell what Google has in store for us.
