Google

Google’s new Fuchsia OS is here – if you own a first-gen Nest Hub

For now, it is available to Preview Program users who own the first-gen device.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
May 25, 2021

Image: KnowTechie

Giveaway: Enter to win a BLUETTI Charger 1 ($399 value): Enter Here

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Google has been working on its newest operating system, Fuchsia OS, for some time now and it’s finally here. As confirmed by 9to5Google, the from-scratch operating system is rolling out to owners of the first-generation Nest Hub.

First released in 2018, the Nest Hub came with the Linux-based “Cast OS,” and has been using that since launch.

Now it’s getting an update to change to Google’s newest operating system, Fuchsia OS, but it won’t require owners to get used to another way of doing things. That’s down to Google’s Flutter, which makes it easy to bring consistent app experiences across multiple platforms.

Fuchsia OS was designed to run on all manner of devices, from Chromebooks to smartphones or anything in the smart home. It’s not hard to see Google leveraging this across its whole product stack, making internal development even easier. Could the next Pixel device run Fuchsia instead of Android? Maybe, but it’s more likely that’s a few years away.

For now, users of the Google Nest Hub in the Preview Program will get their hands on the Fuchsia OS first, with the non-preview users at some point after that. Assuming everything goes well, this roll-out on the Nest Hub will show that the new operating system is ready for use on other devices.

That could be anything from more internet-of-things devices to TV boxes, but don’t expect it to replace Chrome OS or Android — Google says Fuchsia is about “learning new technologies.”

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.