Google Rolls Out Fuchsia to First-Gen Nest Hub Devices

The new operating system makes its official debut

By
Cesar Cadenas
Cesar Cadenas Writer
Cesar Cadenas
Writer
  • California State University - Long Beach
Cesar Cadenas has been writing about the tech industry since 2016 on a variety of topics like cryptocurrency, video games, the latest gadgets, and much more.
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Updated on August 18, 2021 02:47PM EDT
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Rich Scherr
Rich Scherr
Fact checked by Rich Scherr
  • University of Maryland Baltimore County
Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire.
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Google is silently rolling out the upgrade of its Fuchsia operating system for the first generation of Nest Hub devices.

Google has been quietly developing the Fuchsia operating system (OS) from the ground up as a non-Linux-based alternative to its current OS. Google confirmed to 9to5Google that the upgrade is coming with the new firmware update for its first-generation Nest Hub devices. Users should have it soon, if not already.

Kids below a Nest Hub device

Maskot/Getty Images

Previously, Nest Hub devices utilized Google Cast as the operating system. The differences between Cast and Fuchsia are so minimal that users might not even notice any changes. The user interface is still the same and so is booting the device. However, improvements in casting make it faster on the Fuchsia OS.

It appears that the similarities in performance are intentional as Google wanted to make the experience of using Fuchsia as seamless as possible.

Fuchsia was first released in a preview program back in May to help uncover any bugs or oversights that may have been missed during testing.

Nest Hub on a table

Justin Sullivan/Staff/Getty Images

Google provides instructions on how to check if you have the updated firmware, including a list of the firmware versions that feature the new Fuchsia OS.

It is currently unknown whether Google plans to keep Fuchsia exclusive to Nest Hub devices or migrate it over to other products. Cast OS has been replaced in Nest Hub devices, but still exists in other gadgets such as Chromecast.

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