Google is building a new operating system

[Becky]

There has been no formal announcement from Google, but a page has surfaced on GitHub (a site for sharing code) showing a new operating system called Fuchsia. There is no detail about the project, the only description is simply "Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System)". Android Police has speculated that the new OS could replace Chrome OS and Android with Fuchsia in the future:

First, there’s the Magenta kernel based on the ‘LittleKernel’ project. Just like with Linux and Android, the Magenta kernel powers the larger Fuchsia operating system. Magenta is being designed as a competitor to commercial embedded OSes, such as FreeRTOS or ThreadX.

However, Magenta is designed to scale much better, enabling Magenta to work on embedded devices, smartphones, and desktop computers. For this to happen, Magenta improves upon its LittleKernel base by adding first class user-mode support (a necessity for user accounts) and a capability-based security model (which would enable something like Android 6.0’s permissions to work).

But that’s just the kernel; what about the rest of the OS? It looks like Google is using Flutter for the user interface, as well as Dart as the primary programming language. The icing on the cake is Escher, a renderer that supports light diffusion, soft shadows, and other visual effects, with OpenGL or Vulkan under the hood. Shadows and subtle color reflections are a key component of Material Design, so it seems Flutter and Escher could be designed for the Material Design UI in mind.

Read more on Android Police and Business Insider