Let’s quickly go through what happened in the tech world over the weekend.

First up, remember Google’s mysterious Fuchsia OS? Well, it’s back in the spotlight, and this time it’s eyeing your Android device. But not in the way you might think—we’re talking virtual cohabitation here.

And if you’ve been holding your breath for OnePlus’s next move, exhale slowly. We’ve got the inside scoop on their upcoming gadget bonanza, including the much-anticipated Pad 2.

But that’s not all. We’re also diving into how Huawei is thumbing its nose at U.S. sanctions (spoiler: it involves AI), and why your next flagship phone might come with a heftier price tag thanks to Qualcomm’s ambitious plans.

More details on the above stories in today’s newsletter below

Google’s Fuchsia OS might run virtually on Android devices: Report

In a surprising turn of events, Google‘s enigmatic Fuchsia operating system might be making its way onto Android devices, not as a full-fledged replacement, but as a virtualized inhabitant.

Fuchsia OS was first introduced in 2016 and appeared on its first commercial device in 2021 with the launch of the first-generation Nest Hub. But its reach hasn’t extended beyond the Nest Hub so far. However, a recent report suggests Fuchsia OS might run as a virtual machine on Android devices.

Read more

OnePlus Pad 2 Global model specs leak: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 12.1″ 144Hz IPS LCD, 67W fast charging & more

OnePlus has confirmed the lineup for its upcoming launch event in Milan, Italy, on July 16th. The event will introduce the OnePlus Nord 4, OnePlus Pad 2, OnePlus Watch 2R, and OnePlus Nord Buds 3. These products will also be available in India, as confirmed by a new microsite on Amazon India.

Read more

Huawei defies U.S. sanctions: CEO unveils plan to keep China leading in AI

At the World AI Conference in Shanghai, Zhang Ping’an, CEO of Huawei Cloud, delivered a compelling message regarding China’s AI progress amidst U.S. sanctions on advanced GPUs and chipmaking technology. Despite the constraints imposed by limited access to top-tier processors, Zhang emphasized that China can continue to lead in AI without relying solely on high-end chips.

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Tipster claims the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be up to 30% more expensive than the SD 8 Gen 3 at up to $240

The next iteration of Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor – the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 Soc has been the subject of speculation and rumors for a while now, especially concerning its price. Tipster Yogesh Brar is the latest to speculate that the new chipset will be priced higher than its predecessor.

Read more

More Top Stories You Might Have Missed

• OnePlus Nord 4, Pad 2, Nord Buds 3 Pro & Watch 2R launching on July 16: Here’s everything we know so far
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• Honor Magic V3 leak reveals 5,200mAh battery, 9.7mm slim body, and more
• Upcoming Smartphones: CMF Phone 1, Galaxy Z Fold 6, Honor Magic V3, and more

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In a surprising turn of events, Google‘s enigmatic Fuchsia operating system might be making its way onto Android devices, not as a full-fledged replacement, but as a virtualized inhabitant.

Fuchsia OS was first introduced in 2016 and appeared on its first commercial device in 2021 with the launch of the first-generation Nest Hub. But its reach hasn’t extended beyond the Nest Hub so far. However, a recent report suggests Fuchsia OS might run as a virtual machine on Android devices.

What Fuchsia does offer is a distinct foundation compared to Android and ChromeOS. It ditches the modified Linux kernel approach and is built from the ground up using a microkernel named Zircon. This microkernel architecture promises benefits in efficiency, flexibility, and security by minimizing the amount of trusted code in the system.

The new twist comes in the form of a project dubbed “microfuchsjia.” This project is reportedly aimed to enable Fuchsia to run on existing devices through virtualization.

Virtualization creates a software-based replica of a physical device, allowing it to operate in a separate computing environment. This isolation ensures that programs running on the primary OS and within the virtual machine do not interfere with each other.

Reports from the Fuchsia Gerrit code repository suggest that microfuchsia will use virtualization software like QEMU and pKVM. The latter, developed by Google, focuses on layered security for isolated workload execution. Interestingly, Google also created a lightweight Android variant called “microdroid” for this purpose.

The potential functionality of microfuchsia on Android devices remains unclear at the moment. However, similarities to microdroid suggest it might be used for running tasks that demand heightened security.

Also, the reason for a separate Fuchsia solution, given microdroid’s existence, is yet to be revealed. It is possible that Google views Fuchsia as a more secure and performant option for virtualized workloads within the Android ecosystem.

(Via)

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Fuchsia OS is the newest operating system from Google that was launched earlier this year. This latest software from the technology giant is already powering the company’s first-generation Nest Hub.

Now, a new job listing from the company, spotted by 9to5Google, sheds light on the matter that Google is looking to expand the Fuchsia operating system to “additional smart devices and other form factors.”

For those who are unaware, Google has been working on this new Fuchsia OS for a few years, developing the software from scratch. It launched earlier this year without any fanfare, powering the Nest Hub, which seamlessly switched from Cast Platform.

The company has been working on adding support of Fuchsia OS on more devices, including the Nest Hub Max and the second-generation Nest Hub. Now, the company is looking to expand it to more devices and not just smart displays.

From the job listing, it appears that the “Fuchsia Devices team” will be working on the operating system and will be responsible for making sure that it can successfully apply the Fuchsia platform to real world products that make a difference to Google and users.

As of now, there’s no information about what new form factors the operating system will support but it’s likely to be the devices with support for Chromecast, Video Conferencing, and Machine Learning capabilities.

There’s also a possibility that Google could work with some of its partners and bring the latest Fuchsia OS to non-Google devices, including products from companies like JBL and Lenovo. Do note that there’s no concrete evidence on where this latest OS from Google is heading and this is just speculation until more details surface online.

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Last week was packed full of announcements. Not only were there several new phones but we also got a handful of new tablets from two tech giants, a new operating system, and new CPU and GPU cores from Arm.

Redmi Note 8 2021

The Redmi Note 8 2021 was one of the devices announced last week. The refreshed phone which originally launched in 2019 now comes with a new processor and the latest version of Android. There is no price tag yet but it will be sold in Europe.

Fuchsia OS is official, rolls out to the Nest Hub

Fuchsia OS, the operating system in development by Google since 2016 is now official and the tech giant is pushing it out as an update to the first-gen Nest Hub which originally runs Cast OS. Google has bigger plans for the operating system but it is starting with its IoT devices, so expect to see the new OS power a lot more devices soon.

US drops Xiaomi from its trade blacklist

The United States has had no other choice than to Xiaomi has officially been removed from the US trade blacklist following a ruling from a US court. The company had taken the US Govt. to court following its addition to a list of companies designated as Communist Chinese Military Companies. The court has now ruled in favor of the Chinese tech giant.

Lenovo and Samsung’s new tablets battle it out

Both Lenovo and Samsung announced new tablets last week. The latter announced the Xiaoxin Pad Pro 2021, Xiaoxin Pad Plus, and the YOGA Pad Pro while Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S7 FE and the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite.

Arm’s new CPU cores are powerful and boast a new architecture

Arm’s CPUs and GPUs are the basis for a lot of mobile processors. Last week, it announced new ones that are not only powerful but also mark a big shift in architecture as they drop the 2011 Arm v8 for the new Arm v9.

The new CPUs include the Cortex-X2 performance core, the Cortex-A710 big core which succeeds the Cortex-A78, and the Cortex-A510 which succeeds the Cortex-A55 that was announced back in 2018. As you can see, Arm has switched from two digits to three for its big core and little cores.

For the new GPUs, we have the Mali-G710 and Mali-G610 for high-end chips and the Mali-G510 and Mali-G310, successors to the Mali-G57 and Mali-G31 for budget and mid-range chips. All of this GPUs are available with different cores, so that will play a role in their performance when they begin to appear in chipsets.

OPPO Reno6 series

The Reno6 series made its debut in China last week. The three devices come with high refresh rate displays, MediaTek and Qualcomm processors, and support for 65W fast charging across board.

Realme could switch back to ColorOS

When Realme first began shipping phones, the devices ran ColorOS. Along the line, it announced its own UI called realme UI, which is actually a fork of OPPO’s ColorOS. Now a recent survey carried out by the brand realme could switch back to ColorOS for its smartphones, though with some features exclusive to its own phones.

Redmagic 6R is a more affordable gaming flagship

Nubia’s RedMagic gaming smartphone brand announced a new model for its RedMagic 6 series last week. The RedMagic 6R is a proper flagship in its own right with its AMOLED display, 144Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 888 chip, and support for 55W fast charging, but it is more affordable than its siblings with a starting price of under ~$450.

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The post Top stories from last week: Redmi Note 8 2021, Fuschia OS makes it debut, Lenovo and Samsung announce new tablets, Xiaomi removed from US Blacklist, and more appeared first on Gizmochina.

Earlier this month, a Google Nest Hub model running on the open-source Fuchsia OS was spotted on Bluetooth SIG certification website. The model was spotted running Fuchsia 1.0. Google has now reportedly released the new OS for the first-generation Nest Hub, initially launched as Google Home Hub.

Google first commenced development of the Fuchsia OS in 2016, an open-source operating system that is distinctively not based on the Linux kernel, one major distinguishing feature from the Android OS. Instead of the Linux kernel, the OS is based on a microkernel called Zircon.

You don't ship a new operating system every day, but today is that day.

— Petr Hosek (@petrh) May 25, 2021

Petr Hosek, a Google technical lead on the Fuchsia OS tweeted earlier today that “You don’t ship a new operating system every day, but today is that day.”  However, it may take several months before a broad release will be achieved on all Nest Hub units across the globe. The release will first roll out to users enrolled on the Preview Program.

The Nest Hub presently runs on Cast OS which will be swapped for Fuchsia OS but there isn’t much chance in the user experience, according to 9to5Google. The two operating systems look alike such that some users may not even notice the difference. But Google says Fuchsia is a “production-grade operating system that is secure, updatable, inclusive, and pragmatic.” Google also plans to push the new OS to laptops and even smartphones. It would be recalled that a Pixelbook being tested with Fuchsia OS was spotted in 2018.

We expect the tech giant to release a timetable for the rollout which is expected to shift the the second-gen Nest Hub models after it has been pushed to the first-gen models.

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It’s been a few years since Google started working on a new operating system named Fuchsia. It is an open-source OS that prioritizes security, updatability, and performance and is aimed towards a range of devices.

Now it seems that Google is finally ready to launch the operating system in the market with version 1.0. A new product from the company named Google Nest Hub has appeared on Bluetooth SIG which reveals that the device runs Fuchsia 1.0.

It is noteworthy that the device listed on the website is “Google Home Hub” which was launched in 2018 and was later rebranded as “Google Nest Hub” and is not the Nest Hub 2nd Gen that was released this year.

The Nest Hub runs the Cast platform but the listing suggests Fuchsia 1.0 which could also refer to the initial “M1” release of the operating system. There’s also a possibility that the version number is just a placeholder.

Do note that this isn’t the first time a Fuchsia-running device has appeared on Bluetooth SIG. Last year, a device codenamed “Sapphire” had appeared on the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) website.

However, it seems unlikely for the operating system to be available for the general public or even developers anytime soon given the pace of development for Fuchsia. Google has tested running this new operating system on a few consumer devices, such as the Google Pixelbook, Nest Hub, and Nest Hub Max. Recently, Fuchsia opened the project to contribution from the public and began its “release” cycle.

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Huawei unveiled the Harmony OS with much fanfare at the Huawei Developer Conference (2019) earlier today. The OS is primarily targeted at IoT products and is the company’s back up plan if it no longer can use Android on its smartphones. Huawei was careful NOT to directly market it as a replacement to Android but it did stress that it would use Harmony OS as its last resort for its smartphones.

Building a new OS from scratch is never easy and time and again we’ve seen examples of companies failing to gain traction from developers for a brand new OS. However, Huawei wants to take things slow and steady, starting with IoT products like the new Huawei Smart Screen that’s going to be unveiled tomorrow.

There’s a lot of stuff that was revealed about the OS at the event today, so we decided to compile 10 things you should know about Harmony OS so that you are updated about its most important features.

1. Harmony OS development began back in 2017

Huawei started working on the HarmonyOS as early as 2017. The company decided to speed things up in 2019 to power its smart screen products this year. The v1.0 will initially target smart display products, such as the Huawei Smart Screen to be unveiled tomorrow. In 2020, microkernel v2.0 will be released and subsequently, in 2021, the v3.0 will be available with added support for wearables.

The HarmonyOS v1.0 will still feature a Linux kernel alongside its own microkernel, but future versions, starting v2.0 will be completely based on its microkernel.

2. Huawei’s HarmonyOS is based on a light Microkernel unlike Android

Huawei’s HarmonyOS is microkernel-based, much like Google’s Fuchsia OS. This makes it more of a direct competitor to Fuchsia than Android. This design ensures that the new OS can be used on multiple types of devices at once. So, it’s meant to be a multi-device solution rather than a smartphone focused OS.

Unlike Linux kernels which have a relatively large amount of code in a shared address space, microkernels have a smaller amount of shared code and enable faster communication between its components.

3. HarmonyOS will not allow root access

Huawei confirms you won’t get root access on the Harmony OS. This has been done to avoid any future security concerns, which the company says is a security risk on Android and other Linux-based OSes.

4. HarmonyOS is primarily for IoT products

Huawei is targeting IoT products such as wearables, smart screen products, smart speakers, in-car entertainment units and other smart products for its new HarmonyOS. Smartphones are not really the priority but the company stresses that it is capable of replacing Android on its mobile devices.

5. Huawei smartphones can shift to HarmonyOS in just a couple of days

Huawei revealed that if the need arises, it can quickly shift to HarmonyOS on its smartphones. It will just take 1-2 days for the company to replace Android on its phones. That’s impressive yet scary at the same time!

6. Android Apps are not compatible out of the box

Huawei’s HarmonyOS won’t support Android apps out of the box. The company notes that ‘small changes’ need to be made to existing apps to ensure that it can run on its new OS. But it is possible to port Android, HTML5, and Linux apps over to HarmonyOS using Huawei’s ARK compiler, which is open source.

7. Huawei is building its own app store

Huawei is already busy building a replacement for the Google Play store. The company’s inhouse app store is called as Huawei AppGallery and it is already asking developers to publish their Android apps over on its own apps store as well. The company has even unveiled Huawei Mobile Services as an alternative to Google Play services.

8. Huawei’s Mate 30 series could use HarmonyOS

While Huawei stressed that HarmonyOS isn’t really targeted for smartphones, it could be forced to install the new OS on the upcoming Mate 30 series. The company has confirmed that the Mate 30 series models haven’t received Google Play certification yet. If the Huawei ban continues, the Chinese telecommunications giant could be forced to use HarmonyOS on the new models. There are already rumors that the Mate 30 Lite will be the first HarmonyOS running smartphone. Let’s wait and watch.

9. HarmonyOS will go Open Source sometime next year

Huawei is planning to make HarmonyOS completely open-source sometime next year. This could bring in companies like OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi to collaborate and develop the new operating system. US ban is currently a primary threat to Huawei, but it can extend to other Chinese companies as well. I’m sure they would want an alternative like HarmonyOS in case things go south.

10. HarmonyOS will build its roots in China first

Huawei will lay the foundations of the HarmonyOS in the Chinese market, later expanding it to international markets. So, the first set of HarmonyOS products will be unveiled in China, starting with the Honor Vision Smart screen.

So, that’s everything you should know about the new HarmonyOS.

Let’s know if you think it can eventually replace or at least compete directly with Android for smartphones.

The post 10 Things You Should Know About Huawei’s HarmonyOS appeared first on Gizmochina.

Google has been secretly working on its next-generation operating system called ‘Fuchsia OS’ since quite some time now but there has not been any official announcement from the company. While some reports indicate that it could replace Android, some reports suggest that it will be entirely different.

Earlier, it was rumored that the Fuchsia OS will be capable of running Android applications and now we have a confirmation for the same from Google. Spotted by 9to5Google, a new change in the Android Open Source Project confirms that Fuchsia will be capable of running Android apps using the Android Runtime.

Last month, two repositories related to the Fuchsia OS were added to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) manifest. The first — “platform/prebuilts/fuchsia_sdk” contains a pre-built copy of the Fuchsia SDK, which would be used to create applications. The second — “device/google/fuchsia” appeared like a device that could be used by the Android Emulator to run Fuchsia.

This week, there was a change that was posted to Android’s Gerrit source code management system. The README.md file helps explain what the “device/google/fuchsia” repository is intended for. It says that Fuchsia will use a specially designed version of the Android Runtime (“ART” above) to run Android applications. This version of ART will be installable on any Fuchsia device using a .far file which is Fuchsia’s equivalent of Android’s APK.

Fuchsia OS is being created from the scratch to overcome certain limitations that Android presents. It should be able to work across a range of products including phones, laptops, and smart devices. It looks like the OS is being built to be more secure, better capable to understand voice interactions and look the same across devices.

A couple of months ago, it was reported that an Android smartphone from Huawei is being used for testing Fuchsia. The Chinese company has been working on making the upcoming OS run on Kirin 970-powered devices, starting with Honor Play.

Huawei has also become the first company outside of Google to make a major contribution to the upcoming open source OS project. However, this is not surprising given that Google and Huawei have worked together in the past.

Read More: Google tweets that it will start charging Chinese OEMs for Android from this year, but then deletes it

The strategy of Google of making information available early and giving developers and users time to warm up to the change seems smart as it makes the transition process easier for users as well as developers. While it will be many more months before we see Fuchsia in the wild, we are expecting Google to official acknowledge Fuchsia OS sometime this year.

(Via)

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Back in 2016, news of a new Operating System by Google surfaced on the internet. Called Fuchsia, the OS is based on a new microkernel called Zircon instead of Linux like Android and ChromeOS. There were reports that Fuchsia would replace Android but Google has not confirmed that.

Fast forward to January 2018; Google released a guide on how to run Fuchsia on the Pixelbook and the team at Ars Technica made a video giving us a look at the new operating system.

The over 8-minute long video shows a number of features most of which are not working since the OS is unfinished. However, there are some pretty cool features.

On the lock-screen, there is a Fuchsia logo at the top left corner that lets you switch between phone mode and laptop mode. You can also switch the orientation from portrait to landscape or vice versa when in phone mode.

There are a number of buttons at the bottom right corner such as Login, Wi-Fi, and Guest. Ars Technica says only “Guest” works. Click on it and you get taken to the homescreen.

The homescreen is sort of a blend of Google Now and your regular homescreen. Above the Google search bar are icons for time, date, WiFi (doesn’t work), and battery level (works). There is also a Fuchsia button which opens up a quick settings panel.

The OS also supports split-screen multitasking in both vertical and horizontal modes as well as a new tab mode.

Most of the features do not work but you get an idea of what is to come when Google eventually finishes it. However, there are reports that this may not happen soon.

READ MORE: Google and Tencent Form Alliance, Agree To Share Patents

The kernel it is built-on is still new compared to Linux which is decades old. Also Google is doing pretty well with Android with more than 80% market share, so it is in no rush to push out Fuchsia OS. You can watch the video at the source link below.

[envira-gallery id=”168538″]

(Source, Via)

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