Google released a press statement yesterday saying it is going to soon replace the name of its ‘Android Wear’ with ‘Wear OS by Google’. The reason, the web search giant feels that the latest name better reflects the technology, vision and most important of all- the people who wear watches.
Now, the other news which is doing rounds on GitHub and Reddit is that Google is soon going to introduce a new operating system named ‘Fuchsia’, which will be a totally different new operating system, currently in the early stages of development.
Some of our highly placed sources from Google report that Fuchsia is being developed from mid-2016 and will be designed to be a universal operating system, capable of running on low-power smartwatches, desktops, tablets, car electronics, connected appliances, smart homes, and phones.
Details such as the Fuchsia OS release date and whether it will be an open source are still under wraps.
Technically, Google’s universal operating system will be in lines with Microsoft Windows 10…..hmm….to a certain extent of course!
We all know that Microsoft tried its best to make Win 10 a universal OS by making it run on smartphones, desktops, and laptops. But somewhere in this development it lost its route and chose to run it in a stripped down version.
Apple also tried its best to bring in a universal OS into existence with OS X. But eventually, its efforts did not work out in practice and instead gave way to a branded iOS.
Google Fuchsia will be built from a ground on a totally new microkernel named Zircon. Unlike Android and Chrome which run on the modified version of Linux Kernel, Fuchsia will be built for efficiency and flexibility. Details on the security of the said OS is yet to be known.
Actually, micro kernel architecture was a hit in 80’s but faded out as soon as the concept of storage, silicon power and memory came into existence in early 90’s.
But now as the demand for smaller and more efficient computing gadgets has picked up, Google wants to re-introduce the concept of the micro kernel with Fuchsia.
From developers point of view, Fuchsia will allow them to develop apps in a variety of programming languages using the new Flutter software development kit which allows apps to be written in Android and iOS languages. Even all the existing apps can be ported to Fuchsia with the help of flutter software.
The release date of Google Fuchsia is yet to be known. But some of the smart gadgets such as the Intel NUC mini-PC and the Acer Switch Alpha 12 tablet are said to be running on the new and so-called Universal OS.
Why Google did not introduce the new OS concept into its Chrome books or the upcoming Pixel book remains a mystery.
More details will be updated shortly.
