The Google Operating System Mystifying the Internet
Google's Mountain View headquarters. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
A project called Fuschia has the internet speculating.
Google, maker of the most ubiquitous mobile operating system in the world, is apparently working on a new one.
A project called “Fuchsia”—first uncovered by readers of the aggregation site Hacker News—showed up on the code repository site GitHub on Aug. 12. Fuchsia appears to be a new project from two Google engineers with experience in embedded systems—computer systems that don’t need full-blown operating systems, like a car dashboard or a microwave.
The GitHub page doesn’t offer too many clues about the intended use of Fuchsia—there’s just a somewhat cryptic message at the top, saying, “Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System).”
According to The Verge, the operating system is based on a piece of code called Magenta, which could be the pink part of the message, although it’s unclear what the purple part is. (Google is also working on a very different project called Magenta, so perhaps the company is just really into pinkish hues right now.)
A Google spokesperson confirmed to Quartz this is an active project at the company that isn’t related to either the Android or Chrome operating systems, but wouldn’t share what it’ll be for. And that hasn’t stopped the internet from trying to imagine what it could be. The Verge suggested it could be the long-rumored replacement for both Google’s Chrome and Android operating systems, and readers on Hacker News believe it could be the next version of Android, or for an as-yet-unreleased Google augmented reality device.
Whatever it’s for, if it’s for anything at all, we’ll have to wait and see.