The first news of Google’s new system, Fuchsia, came in 2016, almost two years ago. Google had been expected to make an announcement about a hybrid of its desktop operating system Chrome OS and its mobile operating system Android. However, after two Google developer conferences, Fuchsia has been officially announced only a handful of times, aside from a few rumors.

Currently, the best Chromebooks, like The Google Pixelbook, run the Chrome OS desktop operating system but can run Android apps through the Google App Store. Fuchsia, however, goes a step further, taking over the position of Google’s unique, unified operating system for devices like phones, tablets and Chromebooks.

We haven’t seen any announcements about Fuchsia yet, but we haven’t “lost” anything. One Reddit user apparently found evidence that Google is working on an “AltOS mode “that allows switching between Chrome OS and” alternative operating systems “in a certain dual-boot configuration, But recently we found out that Google is adding Windows support to its hardware — so this “AltOS model “may not be Fuchsia related either. However, this could be used as a way to run Fuchsia when it eventually comes to market.

Cut to the chase back

  • What is Fuchsia? A cross-device operating system that combines Android and Chrome OS

  • When will Fuchsia be released? Early versions already run on Google Pixelbook

  • What does Fuchsia need from us? Probably nothing, like Android and Chrome OS



Google Pixelbook running earlier versions of Fuchsia OS (Image Credit: Ars Technica)

What is Google Fuchsia?

Google Fuchsia is a converged operating system that is still under development. According to 9to5Google, the Fuchsia system consists of two distinct but interrelated user interfaces (UIs) : A mobile-centric UI code-named “Armadillo” (also known as Fuchsia’s system UI), and a traditional desktop UI code-named “Capybara”.

So far, the mobile version of Fuchsia has been better known than the laptop version. But ArsTechnica has shown that Google Pixelbook can run a very early version of Fuchsia. Additionally, according to a recent report by 9to5Google, 13-year-old indie developer Noah Cain built a running version of Fuchsia’s Capybara design style on his own.

“Fuchsia will do a lot of what Microsoft and Apple have done in Windows 10 and ios-to-MacOS Sierra continuity, respectively, but in a Google way.”

Splitting the operating system into two separate user interfaces, depending on the hardware used, is a classic Microsoft practice. So Windows 10’s scale depends on whether it works with a desktop, phone, tablet or game console. In fact, the only unifying aspect of Windows 10 is its kernel, the underlying code that controls most of the operating system’s functions.

In Fuchsia’s case, its kernel, called “Zircon, “is designed to keep applications safe by constantly accessing them, as well as continuously updating them, adding additional layers of security and eliminating incompatibility with system updates.

For both mobile and desktop operating systems, Fuchsia is full of the Material Design found everywhere on Google’s Android devices and Chrome OS products. Shading is an important element of the Design aesthetic, and Fuchsia uses a Vulkan based image rendering engine called “Escher”, which appears to have been custom-developed by Google to run Google’s shadow-Heavy “Material Design” interface guide. The result is a deeper interface than products running traditional flat operating systems.

Additionally, the system interface and applications are written using Google’s Flutter SDK, a project that provides cross-platform code to run on Android and iOS. The Flutter App is written in Dart language.



Google’s Fuchsia system on a smartphone device

Fuchsia also puts a lot of emphasis on a card-like interface, where every app you open is presented as a card — plus, you can pack multiple apps into a single card. As a result, users will focus on the “tasks” at hand, not just the application.

We mentioned Flutter, a new cross-platform mobile application development framework developed by Google, so these apps should look the same on different devices.

In addition, Fuchsia will be able to access and use your apps and information more deeply around Google Assistant to provide more actions and judgments. Google refers to these apps and information as “entities,” according to a GitHub developer’s page, and all of them are accessible on Fuchsia through Google Assistant. Further evidence of Google Assistant’s deep integration with Fuchsia is shown in recent demos.

Finally, Fuchsia wants to be the best cross-device operating system ever. To achieve this, Fuchsia uses a new tool called Ledger. Once you’ve logged into a Google account on a Fuchsia device, Ledger will automatically save your location in all apps installed on all Fuchsia devices.

All in all, Fuchsia Google is trying to combine the best features of Chrome OS and Android into a single operating system that will be more productive when you use it and when you’re away.



This is probably where Fuchsia made its debut

When will Google Fuchsia be released?

The Fuchsia release date has been rumored several times since August 2016 — only to be untrue. These rumors usually come ahead of Google’s Google IO developer conference in California, and back in October of last year, when we knew big hardware announcements were coming.

In February 2018, it was revealed that Nick Kralevich, Google’s former head of Android security, left the Android team to join Fuchsia, where he is responsible for “defining security.” Kralevich described it as a “new experimental operating system” without revealing any specific release window, but it does indicate that Google has chosen to place Fuchsia where its most critical resources are.

That should help us predict when Fuchsia will appear on ready devices: probably not before 2019. Of course, that doesn’t mean Fuchsia won’t be available in 2018, as Google may release a preview version this year in preparation for a mainstream release in 2019.

But anyway, stay tuned, because we’ll keep you updated as we get closer to Fuchsia’s release date.



So the final question is, is Fuchsia the end of the road for Android as we know it?

What does Fuchsia mean for Android and Chrome, as well as Windows and macOS?

Google hasn’t released an official explanation of why Fuchsia exists or why it’s useful, leaving us to speculate. “Modern phone” sounds like something that could eventually compete with Android, but right now the system is so “young” that it’s hard to say.

Data shows that Android has far surpassed iOS in the market share of mobile operating systems, and has firmly occupied the majority of the country. In the PC market, Chrome OS is also surging, even surpassing Apple’s MacBook shipments. Google itself has become a major player across all platforms.

As mentioned above, Fuchsia will do many of the things Microsoft and Apple have done in Windows 10 and ios-to-MacOS Sierra continuity, respectively, but in Google’s way. With Google Assistant and “Entity,” users will have easy access to Google’s unparalleled search and data tracking capabilities, which will provide a better experience than Microsoft and Apple.

But does Fuchsia mean the end of Android and Chrome OS? On paper, probably, but some of their principles are sure to survive, as they have a lot of solid foundations. For example, the Material Design Design language we saw in earlier versions of the Fuchsia system.

The end result is likely to be seen in a preview version later this year and in devices available for purchase in 2019. With Fuchsia, Google can bring all versions of new updates and features to market at once, simplifying support services and understanding for users.

So if Fuchsia does come out, Google will become an enemy of Microsoft and Apple. Who knows, after all, having one more choice may not be such a bad thing for users.