It was first reported about two years ago that Google was likely working on a new operating system called Fuchsia, at least internally. The reports at that time suggested that instead of Linux it used the Zirzon real-time kernel. The OS is being developed to run on a variety of devices including but not limited to smartphones and notebooks. A new report today claims that Google now has more than 100 engineers working on Fuchsia and may be ready to ship it on smartphones within five years.
Bloomberg reports that Fuchsia has been designed to replace all operating systems that Google ships on its consumer products. The list includes Android, Chrome OS, and the special iterations of Android for its Google Home devices.
The report mentions that engineers working on Fuchsia want the operating system to ship on smart devices like the Google Home within three years followed by notebooks. The ultimate goal will be to replace Android with Fuchsia but that’s not a done deal as yet.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai and SVP of Android and Chrome OS Hiroshi Lockheimer have reportedly not approved a roadmap for replacing Android just yet. The report doesn’t mention how Fuchsia will handle backwards compatibility.
It won’t get very far on smartphones if it doesn’t have support for Android apps because then that would be akin to upsetting the entire applecart which isn’t something Google can afford. Google could integrate the same Android container that it’s using for Android apps in Chrome OS into Fuchsia to mitigate that risk.
Google hasn’t confirmed or denied this report as yet.
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