There could be a third OS on the way from Google. Following the widely used and obviously popular Android, as well as Chrome OS, Google is reportedly working on another OS called Fuchsia.
First reared it’s head in August, we now have some first look on the UI (User Interface), thanks to Ars Technica’s highly comprehensive reports and screenshots. Apparently the UI is called Armadillo. Unlike Android, this OS is open sourced an not based on Linux – instead it’s based on a Google developed microkernel called “Magenta”.
According to Ars Technica, Google’s documentation describes Magenta as targeting “modern phones and modern personal computers with fast processors, non-trivial amounts of RAM with arbitrary peripherals doing open-ended computation.”
There’s no official statement from Google yet, so most of what they’d do with Fuchsia is mainly speculation at this point. Although at this moment, as Ars Technica pointed out, “Nothing really “works”—it’s all a bunch of placeholder interfaces that don’t do anything.”
As of now the design looks very card based – think Google Now kinda cards. There are examples for mobile and desktop looking platforms, and seems to feature tabs as well. It certainly looks like a redesigned OS that is focused on making the user experience much smoother. Although, this first look shows that there’s probably much more work to do on it before we see anything concrete in consumer hands.
While there are no details to what it will eventually end up as – will it replace Android? Although on thing is for sure, Fuchsia developer Travis Geiselbrecht said the OS “isn’t a toy thing, it’s not a 20% project, it’s not a dumping ground of a dead thing that we don’t care about anymore.”
Ars Technica had a very detailed look at the OS. And more pictures.