For years, Google has been working on Fuchsia OS, an operating system that never seemed to have a sense of direction. We knew the company was working on it, and we’ve seen a handful of leaks of the system’s UI, but we’ve never gotten a firm direction of where the OS was heading in Google’s product line. Some have speculated it’ll eventually replace Android and Chrome OS, but it looks like it’ll target the smart home market before any of that happens.
The original Nest Hub, released back in 2018 under the name Google Home Hub, has begun receiving an update that switches the core OS from Cast OS to Fuchsia (via 9to5Google). Devices enrolled in Google’s preview program have started getting the update, while everyone else will likely have to wait a bit longer.
While there hasn’t been an official announcement from Google regarding the change, one of its technical leads confirmed the company has begun rolling out “a new operating system.”
The thing you have to keep in mind with this news is that you’re not gonna notice any differences when running Fuchsia. Google has apparently made it identical to the old system in terms of UI and features. The Nest Hub will simply have a new foundation and not a new coat of paint.
Despite Google rolling out Fuchsia to the Nest Hub, it’s still unclear what the company’s intentions are with the system. Certainly, the system will expand beyond smart displays, but it isn’t clear where it’ll land.
This is just the beginning for Fuchsia, and it’s interesting to see it go public without any fanfare. I’ll keep you in the loop as the operating system rolls out more widely.
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