Google Fuchsia Mobile OS First Look: A Strange UI & OS Without Linux Kernel [Demo Video & APK Download)

We had heard rumours about Fuchsia, which is Google’s new operating system.

Leaked images have emerged, which confirms this news now. And, few daring tech enthusiasts have got an APK for this new OS, and installed it on Android, thereby experiencing the first form of this new OS on a smartphone.

Going by the demo video, and the leaked pics of this new OS, we can safely say that the UI has a strange mysterious look, something which users have not experienced before. Google has dumped Linux this time and created their new microkernel called ‘Magenta’, which has been used to develop Fuchsia from scratch.

This means that this new OS would be something which is even more dynamic, and radical than Android, and from the first impression, it is clear that it is.

Fuchsia OS: Will It Replace Android One Day?

Fuchsia, which means a vivid purplish colour, and is also a shrub found in New Zealand, is a real time operating system; which can serve applications that processes real time data – it will instantly process the data, without any buffering.

And this is why Fuchsia is different.

As per initial reports, Fuchsia OS can be used across various devices – right from PCs/laptops to tablets and smartphones, appliances and embedded devices.

Minimal amount of RAM would be enough for Fuchsia to run, which strongly indicates over usage in appliances and embedded devices, rather than smartphones and laptops.

Thus, Internet of Things is the focus of Google here, with Fuchsia, and analysts are claiming that one day, it will replace both Android and Chrome OS. Google is envisioning a scenario, wherein right from automobiles to your fridge; smart TV to your laptop and water cooler to your AC, everything would be running on Fuchsia.

How Fuchsia Will Look?

Fuchsia’s first version is called ‘Armadillo’, and it is a nocturnal insectivorous mammal. The strange, wild names used by Google developers for Fuchsia’s versions is also pretty interesting.

The UI appearance is wild, but has the material design as the core of it.

There are no app shortcuts or app drawer on the home screen, as it happens with Android. Rather, the image of the profile which is currently logged in appears in the center of the screen, and options to scroll up or down.

In some ways, it looks like Google Now Cards, in the Google app for mobile.

When you scroll up,, the screen shows all the stories which have been viewed by you, and when you scroll down, Google suggests stories for you.

When you tap on the home screen image, the OS will present before you options like controlling volume, selecting air-place mode and so on.

Here is a demo video of the workings of the new OS, created by folks at Hotfix:

In case you wish to experience Fuchsia’s version 1: ‘Armadillo’, then here is the link to the APK, which can be installed on any Android phone. But words of caution here: Try this only if you are a expert Android developer and programmer. The phone may crash, and you may lose all data.

The link has been extracted from Slashgear, and they have warned: “This APK SHOULD be safe to use on most modern Android devices, but SlashGear takes no responsibility for any mishaps. The user downloading the file takes full responsibility for their actions from that point forward.”

We will keep you updated as we receive more information on Google’s new OS: Fuchsia.