The secret OS intended to replace Android has a big problem to overcome: Google itself – BGR



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For many people, Fuchsia is just a hue of color that they can not quite explain. If you are an hardcore fan of Android or a technology enthusiast, you know that Fuchsia is the dream of Google. It's the secret-but-secret-most operating system that Google builds to replace Android, Chrome and all the other types of OS that Google can use on its products.

Fuchsia is the new start that Google needs for its mobile OS, one that will propel the company into the next decade of smartphone and post-smartphone innovation. It's the OS that will allow the development of real iPhone equivalents, whether they are Pixel or Galaxy. But Fuchsia has a big problem to overcome before fighting the iPhones of the future, and that's Google itself.

Fuchsia is no longer a secret for a long time. As early as the summer of 2016, we learned that Google was secretly coding on a new OS that should be much better than Android. It supports a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and other form factors (think cars, TVs, refrigerators, anything that could be smart). Better yet, this would allow Google to quickly release updates that would put the company's devices on a par with Apple. And it would work with existing Android apps because you can not just kill the ecosystem of the Android app like this. We have even seen developer demos in action, although Fuchsia is far from ready for prime time.

Now, a detailed piece Bloomberg says that if everything goes well, Fuchsia will see the light day in three to five years. In three years, Fuchsia could power connected home appliances, and then it will power laptops. In five years, Fuchsia will replace Android, according to people familiar with Google's internal roadmap.

The story reveals additional details that had not been previously reported. In addition to supporting a plethora of devices – even the smart speakers and other connected devices are included in the list – Fuchsia will be built with the support of voice interaction and artificial intelligence (AI). These are two of the pillars of future computing, given what we see today on mobile devices and other computers.

In addition to this, Fuchsia is developed with a deep focus on the security and privacy of users. never done with his platforms in the past.

Image Source: Ars Technica

All of this sounds good in theory, and the growing team of Fuchsia engineers has the support of Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Fuchsia now has a team of more than 100 people, including Google veterans like Matias Duarte and Nick Kralevich. The latter might not be as popular as Duarte, but he is a senior security engineer who worked on Android for nine years before moving to Fuchsia in January. He is one of the engineers working on security and privacy functions. Duarte, meanwhile, spends half of his time Google to Fuchsia

but Fuchsia would have provoked "internal quarrels" that could harm the project in the long term. Bloomberg best explains:

The company must also settle some internal quarrels. Some of the principles that Fuchsia's creators pursue have already come up against Google's business model. Google's advertising activities are based on the ability to target users based on their location and business, and the new privacy features of Fuchsia, if implemented, paralyze this important activity. There has already been at least one conflict between advertising and engineering on the security and privacy features of the nascent operating system, according to a person who knows the subject. The advertising team has prevailed, said this person.

According to rumors, Google will have to make a leap of faith with Fuchsia if it really wants the new OS to replace everything else. He will just have to trust his customers, who must appreciate his applications and services, will continue to make money for the business even in a more privacy-focused environment of the user.

Bloomberg notes that in order to better compete with Apple, whose main software values ​​include quick updates, performance, privacy and security, Fuchsia will adopt a new position on privacy . For example, engineers built encrypted user keys into the system so that information is protected every time the software is updated. Of course, if the advertising team continues to win these arguments, then engineers working on Fuchsia will have no chance to compete with Apple in terms of users' privacy.

In Google, there is also a more cynical opinion about Fuchsia. "It's a retention project for senior engineers," said an anonymous source. Apparently, some people think that Fuchsia does not represent much more than a challenge for veterans, which could prevent them from joining rival companies.

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