This week, Google removed a lot of Fuchsia code from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), but Android and Fuchsia are still closely related. According to the current official public information, the Fuchsia system is currently only applicable to the Nest Hub and Nest Hubs Max, two of Google’s own smart screen devices. However, judging from the development of the past few years, Google has higher expectations for Fuchsia.
In Google’s vision, Fuchsia devices can run applications from other systems such as Android and Linux. This could theoretically allow Fuchsia devices to seamlessly replace Chromebooks or Android phones, allowing older apps to run smoothly.
There are many ways to achieve this goal, one of which is Google’s earliest attempt is to run a complete instance of the Android system on a virtual host. While this approach allows Chrome OS and Google Play Games for PC to introduce support for Android apps, there are some potential performance issues.
Another way is to enhance the direct relationship between Fuchsia and the Android Runtime. First spotted in 2019, Google created a project based on Open Android Code (AOSP) that was able to create a version of the Android Runtime for Fuchsia devices.
In the “device/google/fuchsia” launched in February 2021, the Fuchsia project will be launched in Android devices, but there is currently no public progress indicator. And this week, the code for “device/google/fuchsia” has been removed from Android, officially marking the end of this particular path.
A simple “TODO” message was left after the removal, indicating that Google was planning to create something new. The developers responsible for this change are working on Fuchsia’s “Starnix” project.
The project was exposed as early as 2021, and the Starnix project was originally designed to allow Fuchsia to “natively” run applications and libraries developed for Linux/Android. To achieve this, the Starnix project will act as a translation of the underlying kernel architecture from Linux to Fuchsia’s Zircon kernel.
The Fuchsia project team is hoping to run Linux programs on Fuchsia devices. In fact, a dedicated Starnix Shell is already available for download to test Fuchsia’s “workstations”, allowing developers and loyal users to play with the system.
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