Early Version of Google’s Fuchsia OS Demoed on Pixelbook

It recently became possible to run Google’s upcoming Fuchsia operating system on laptops, specifically the search giant’s Pixelbook. Fuchsia is a new operating system that Google is working on to potentially be the successor to both Android and ChromeOS. The OS is supposed to be able to adapt to the size of your device, almost like how Windows 10’s OneCore works.

There is very little to know about Fuchsia at this point in time, as Google is yet to officially acknowledge its existence. But Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo was able to get Fuchsia up and running on his Pixelbook. Amadeo demoed some of the early features of Fuchsia, most of which are in the very early stages.

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There isn’t a lot to Fuchsia right now, though. There’s a lock screen, a quick settings section, and a home screen. The home screen consists of a search box at the bottom that lets you search for files and applications locally, plus the ability to search on Google. It will also likely display intelligent card and suggestions from Google when the OS becomes more mature — but for now, they are just placeholders.

The most interesting about Fuchsia, at least for now, is the home screen and app launcher. The OS currently has a couple of barebones apps, including a file manager, and a web browser, which one can use to play around with the operating system’s multitasking UI. Like Windows 10, Fuchsia lets you snap windows to the side or on top of each other for multitasking, but it also includes a neat tabbed UI for multitasking that lets you easily switch between apps on the OS. There’s even a button that lets you switch between different modes, so you can see how the OS adapts to a phone or a tablet display.

Here are some screenshots:

Google’s Fuchsia operating system is still in the very early days of development. It will take years for the operating system to fully mature, or be capable of replacing Android. Google is just getting started here, and there are high chances of this project getting cancelled as the develpment progresses.

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Conversation 27 comments

  • Martin Pelletier

    Premium Member
    18 January, 2018 - 10:45 am

    <p>Look cool</p>

  • Nicholas Kathrein

    18 January, 2018 - 10:55 am

    <p>Takes a long time to build an OS. I can only guess but I can't believe this could be ready for another 3+ years. There talking about using Apple's Swift language for apps. From a 30,000 foot view they are building it with the correct mindset to run on anything from IOT to desktops. Paul it's very interesting. Let's keep watching it's development.</p>

    • Sprtfan

      18 January, 2018 - 11:31 am

      <blockquote><a href="#238718"><em>In reply to Nicholas_Kathrein:</em></a></blockquote><p>Would that be that current Android apps would not be natively supported? </p>

      • Nicholas Kathrein

        18 January, 2018 - 1:02 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#238734"><em>In reply to Sprtfan:</em></a></blockquote><p>Not sure if I heard about android apps. Not sure they'd need to keep them as in the next few years there'll be more swift programmers than what they use now to build most the apps. Then they could get the Apple devs on this as well. It's so early. Hard to know.</p>

  • Pbike908

    18 January, 2018 - 10:58 am

    <p>It will be interesting to watch where this goes….It doesn't appear that the ability to run Android apps on Chromebook is a winning solution — at least not yet…</p>

  • skane2600

    18 January, 2018 - 11:02 am

    <p>Only in the crazy world of tech can you download an OS that the vendor won't admit exists at all. </p>

    • PeteB

      18 January, 2018 - 11:37 am

      <blockquote><a href="#238722"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>Or the vendor is smart enough not to announce before it's polished and ready.</p><p>So basically the opposite of Windows 10 where MS announces every useless new incremental build and nobody cares anymore because its like a guy banging a pot on his head with a wooden spoon.</p>

      • skane2600

        18 January, 2018 - 1:32 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#238742"><em>In reply to PeteB:</em></a></blockquote><p>There's a difference between announcing and acknowledging. If you make technical information (such as code) on a product available publicly, you are acknowledging the existence of the product. It doesn't necessarily mean the product will ever be announced or offered to the market.</p>

    • Nicholas Kathrein

      18 January, 2018 - 1:06 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#238722"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>Google does a lot of development in the open. Otherwise you wouldn't know about Loon Balloon, and other x projects they are working on. They do have some secret ones as well but they obviously aren't like Apple hiding everything.</p>

      • skane2600

        18 January, 2018 - 1:27 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#238777"><em>In reply to Nicholas_Kathrein:</em></a></blockquote><p>Perhaps the story was worded poorly, but code that is publicly available can't really fail to be "officially acknowledged". An announcement is something different.</p>

  • karlinhigh

    Premium Member
    18 January, 2018 - 11:06 am

    <p>Fuschia – was this the one that's supposed to be like a "Real Time OS?" (VXWorks, QNX)</p>

  • Bats

    18 January, 2018 - 12:25 pm

    <p>Lol…I was laughing at Medhi's last statement, where he attempts to throw cold water on this, </p><p><br></p><p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It will take years for the operating system to fully mature, or be capable of replacing Android. Google is just getting started here, and there are high chances of this project getting cancelled as the develpment progresses."</span></p><p><br></p><p>The reason why I say this, is because I have read a free articles reporting on this, with every one of them expressing excitement based on the tone of their wording. However, not Medhi. Lol… But that's ok. Lol.</p>

    • NazmusLabs

      18 January, 2018 - 1:14 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#238767"><em>In reply to Bats:</em></a></blockquote><p>It's called being pragmatic.</p>

    • VancouverNinja

      Premium Member
      18 January, 2018 - 1:32 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#238767"><em>In reply to Bats:</em></a></blockquote><p>It also shows that Google knows Chrome OS will never be successful. </p><p><br></p><p>If takes two to three years to be a version 1 and then apps have to catch up to it – it is a doomed project. There is just no requirement or use for it at all. </p>

    • Stooks

      18 January, 2018 - 2:19 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#238767"><em>In reply to Bats:</em></a></blockquote><p>Google has a long history of canceling stuff. Also they have issues with focus and lastly a real problem with product confusion. Want to play some audio/video from Google you can with…</p><p><br></p><p>YouTube</p><p>YouTube Music</p><p>YouTube Red</p><p>YouTube TV</p><p>YouTube Gaming (twitch competitor)</p><p>Google Play Music</p><p>Google Play Video</p><p><br></p><p>Each with their own apps and websites. You can pay for content with Google Wallet or ummm Android Pay…oh I am sorry Google Pay….this week.</p><p><br></p><p>Confusing at best and which ones will be around in 2019???</p><p><br></p><p>If this new OS is going to combine Android and ChromeOS then as a developer I should just wait?? As a consumer hold off on a new purchase of a Android phone or Chromebook???</p><p><br></p><p>Will in work with your new Benz?</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

      • OligarchyAmbulance

        18 January, 2018 - 7:24 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#238819"><em>In reply to Stooks:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>What? YouTube Red and Music are parts of YouTube. Not three different services. YouTube Music and Google Music are being rolled into one service soon, Google Play Video is like iTunes, and YouTube TV is a TV streaming service. Stop pretending these are all overlapping, redundant services. </p>

    • offTheRecord

      18 January, 2018 - 3:45 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#238767"><em>In reply to Bats:</em></a></blockquote><p>It's Mehedi. ;-)</p>

  • Jeffery Commaroto

    18 January, 2018 - 12:32 pm

    <p>I like the idea of going clean and putting most of what you need in as few places as possible. The more the OS can get out of the way, the better.</p>

  • MikeGalos

    18 January, 2018 - 1:52 pm

    <p>Well, in reality this isn't a new Operating System. It's a new shell on top of the existing *ix that Google already uses for all their Operating System products so it's not as big an innovation as the headline states nor should it take as long as an actual new Operating System to build and to get mature.</p><p><br></p><p>The shell's big feature, the ability to do what Windows Universal Platform (not OneCore) of dynamically repurposing applications to run using the UX size and input models to fit the device will need to have new or at least redesigned applications to do correctly so that the developer's idea on how things work in a different model are carried forward. We know that just statically remapping doesn't do a good enough job so while we may see Android and ChromeOS apps run, they won't run well without tuning.</p>

    • MutualCore

      18 January, 2018 - 2:55 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#238795"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p>Remains to be seen who Windows CoreOS will be better than this, as that remains vaporware at this point and may indeed be cancelled!</p>

      • SocialDanny123

        18 January, 2018 - 6:09 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#238832"><em>In reply to MutualCore:</em></a></blockquote><p>Windows Core OS isn't vaporware at all. It's been confirmed in Windows 10 Code. </p>

    • ianhead

      18 January, 2018 - 7:24 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#238795"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>It is using Google's own 'Magenta' kernel as well, not Linux.</p>

      • skane2600

        20 January, 2018 - 2:35 am

        <blockquote><a href="#238964"><em>In reply to ianhead:</em></a></blockquote><p>A major company creating a new micro-kernel is the most exciting part of fuchsia. We need to tone-down the hero-worship of Linux IMO. Besides, competition would only improve Linux. It also appears to be written in C++ which should help debunk any myths about being unable to use it efficiently for systems programming.</p>

  • Jorge Garcia

    18 January, 2018 - 2:58 pm

    <p>I hope Google makes this a reality sooner rather than later. I was a big MS fan growing up, but I really hate the Windows 10 model now and am eager to switch to something else (besides the crApple ecosystem). ChromeOS feels like a hack that is not long for this world. This is certainly Google's long-term computer interface/OS project as I'm sure they themselves are getting tired of their own indecisiveness and half-hearted executions. One thing is for sure though, this "OS" is going to NEED to run .APK's, at least via emulation as an indispensable transitional step. I can only assume that they know that.</p>

  • HellcatM

    18 January, 2018 - 3:50 pm

    <p>Hopefully they're getting rid of using Java for apps. I think that's one of the major downfalls of Android as it is now.</p>

  • chrisrut

    Premium Member
    18 January, 2018 - 7:01 pm

    <p>A lovely example of Technological Convergence.</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    19 January, 2018 - 12:46 am

    <p>… Are they using 1507 on that Windows box? Or is that 7?</p><p><br></p><p>Am I seeing &gt;shudder&lt; A-ah… Aero!?</p><p><br></p><p>Really though, this is cool stuff. Hope it goes somewhere and they make an OS that feels as desktop as Chrome but with some real software.</p><p><br></p><p>That of course will be the thing. If Google builds a big-boy OS, will anybody write big-boy software, or will it all be more piddly little things that let you order delivery hot dogs?</p>

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