Google launches its third major operating system, Fuchsia
Enlarge / The Nest Hub. (credit: Google)
Google is officially rolling out a new operating system, called Fuchsia, to consumers. The release is a bit hard to believe at this point, but Google confirmed the news to 9to5Google, and several members of the Fuchsia team have confirmed it on Twitter. The official launch date was apparently yesterday. Fuchsia is certainly getting a quiet, anti-climactic release, as it's only being made available to one device, the Google Home Hub, aka the first-generation Nest Hub. There are no expected changes to the UI or functionality of the Home Hub, but Fuchsia is out there. Apparently, Google simply wants to prove out the OS in a consumer environment.
Fuchsia's one launch device was originally called the Google Home Hub and is a 7-inch smart display that responds to Google Assistant commands. It came out in 2018. The device was renamed the "Nest Hub" in 2019, and it's only this first-generation device, not the second-generation Nest Hub or Nest Hub Max, that is getting Fuchsia. The Home Hub's OS has always been an odd duck. When the device was released, Google was pitching a smart display hardware ecosystem to partners based on Android Things, a now-defunct Internet-of-things/kiosk OS. Instead of following the recommendations it gave to hardware partners, Google loaded the Home Hub with its in-house Google Cast Platform instead-and then undercut all its partners on price.
Fuchsia and Flutter
- Google launches its third major operating system, Fuchsia
- Google's secretive Fuchsia OS is open for contributions
- Google bridges Android and iOS development with Flutter 1.0
- Google's Flutter SDK moves out of beta with Release Preview 1
- Google starts a push for cross-platform app development with Flutter SDK
Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments