Fuchsia: Is a New Operating System Coming from Google?

It's no secret that Chrome OS has not been the same striking success for Google that the Android OS has been. And yet, as we recently reported, Chromebooks based on Chrome OS have found their niche in the market, and Google has made clear that both of its operating systems have bright futures.

There's a new wrinkle in this equation, though: reports are streaming in that Google may be working on a third operating system. It's just a rumor for now, but the new OS, said to be dubbed fuchsia, has a code repository online, and is on GitHub. What might be the aim with this operating system?

The Verge has made a few logical deductions about fuchsia:

"So what is Fuchsia for? There have been a number of suggestions. Some people think it could be used to "unify" Chrome OS and Android into a single operating system (a plan that was first rumored last year, with the new OS said to be scheduled for a 2017 release), while others say it could be used to power hardware like Google's OnHub router or third-party internet of things devices."

"Looking into Fuchsia's code points gives us a few clues. For example, the OS is built on Magenta, a "medium-sized microkernel" that is itself based on a project called LittleKernel, which is designed to be used in embedded systems (computers that have a specialized function and often don't need an actual operating system, like the software in a digital watch). Similarly, both of the developers listed on Fuchsia's GitHub page — Christopher Anderson and Brian Swetland — are experts in embedded systems. Swetland is a senior software engineer at Google and Anderson has previously worked on the company's Android TV and Nexus Q projects."

 According to an online chat log, regarding this new OS: "The decision was made to build it open source, so might as well start there from the beginning."

Android Police is convinced that fuchsia may be aimed at the Internet of Things. 

For now, we'll have to wait for word from Google on what this is all about, but given the company's barnstorming open source success with Android, it makes sense that it might already be considering a new OS for an ermerging tech category like iOT.