Google is presently working on a new multi-device operating system codenamed Fuchsia, but much of it has remained a large mystery. New details, however, indicate that it might support Android in a critical way.
One member of the XDA Developers forum on April 26 revealed that Google apparently added native support for Android apps on Fuchsia. That basically means that despite being a different OS, users will be able to download and install Android apps on Fuchsia as they would on any regular Android device.
Fuchsia Might Run Android Apps
"Fuchsia OS just showed up in AOSP, but most importantly, in the ART (Android Runtime) branch. Looks like they're building Fuchsia with ART...which would suggest native Android app support," XDA Developers editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman said in a tweet.
Allowing Fuchsia to run Android apps will be a crucial step for Google if it intends to replace Android with Fuchsia, which is said to be an OS that can adapt to different platforms, such as smartphones, tablets, and others, negating the need for the company to create different types of OS for different environments.
Aside from consumers, app developers stand to benefit because they won't have to learn an entirely new development ecosystem from the ground up for a new OS. In theory, they could just keep on making Android apps because Fuchsia will be able to run it. App developers have shown that they're not willing to create separate versions of their apps for less common systems. That's part of why Windows Phone died.
Without Fuchsia being able to run Android apps, Google might put itself at great risk. The OS might end up abandoned similar to the Windows Phone, as it makes very little sense as to why people would keep using an OS that doesn't feature their favorite apps.
Fuchsia OS
For now, it's not entirely clear just what Google plans to do with Fuchsia, or better yet — exactly what it's for. Google has spent a lot of time developing Android for different platforms, and the idea of a new OS replacing what's currently the most used mobile operating system in the world seems ridiculous. However, the promise of an OS that is able to adjust itself depending on which platform it's running, and on top of that can run Android apps, sounds almost revolutionary.
Hopefully, Google shares more details about Fuchsia OS soon. Feel free to speculate about it below!
