This OS-replacing update for the Nest Hub Max has been in development at least since December last year. As of this week, it is available to a small group of users enrolled in the Preview Program. Google likely plans to look for any potential issues before proceeding with a wider rollout. Fuchsia OS should be available to the company’s 2019 smart display model globally over the next couple of months or so. Google says it will complete the rollout faster than the last time. As with the original Nest Hub, this update will not change many things for Nest Hub Max users despite switching the device’s operating system. Perhaps that’s the only thing it’ll do, with most of the UI elements and functionalities remaining the same. Many users may not even notice their device is running a new OS, this disguised the update comes. Considering that we are talking about replacing a device’s operating system here, there’s potential for a lot of things to go wrong with this update. And if anything does go wrong, you can’t roll back either. With the Nest Hub Max, there could be bigger implications if things don’t go right. This device serves as a security camera too. As a Googler said about the Fuchsia OS update for the first-gen Nest Hub, this is “like replacing the drivetrain on a car while barreling down the highway with the family inside listening to the radio” (via). There were a few bugs, but Google took care of those with subsequent updates, also adding some new features. The company is confident that it can pull off this incredible accomplishment without any issues one more time.
Fuchsia OS is finally gaining some traction
Google has been working on the Fuchsia OS for years away from the limelight. The project has got some traction over the past year or so as the OS is now shipping into real devices even though the launch has been as quiet as the development itself. However, this could be the beginning of bigger things to come. The second-gen Nest Hub could be the next to get Fuchsia OS. The new OS should ship out of the box on all future Google smart displays too. Perhaps the company will expand Fuchsia support to other device categories as well. There are reports of other companies helping Google in developing Fuchsia OS, including Samsung. Time will tell what’s next for the new operating system.
