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Google may soon upgrade the Nest Audio to Fuchsia OS. The company is testing the new operating system on the Google Assistant-powered smart speaker. It has already seeded Fuchsia OS to the original Nest Hub and the Nest Hub Max, both of which ran Cast OS out of the box.
Google internally refers to the Nest Audio as Prince. A recent code change in the Fuchsia Gerrit reveals the ongoing work on upgrading the device to the new operating system. Google engineers are currently testing Fuchsia OS on Prince. While we don’t have additional info, such as an ETA for public release, it’s a strong hint that the smart speaker will soon have its underlying operating system changed.
It’s not like the update will bring a lot of changes to the Nest Audio, though. Most users may not even notice anything. The device doesn’t have a screen, so there’s no question of visual changes with the arrival of Fuchsia OS. And in terms of functionality, everything should remain the same. Features like voice commands and Casts from apps should work the same way as they currently do.
This is precisely Google’s goal with the Fuchsia OS switchover for its devices. The company wants to ensure a seamless migration to the new operating system. There have been a few hiccups in the process. Some Nest Hub users complained about the screen turning purple after the Fuchsia OS update, while some others found their smart display pauses all media in their home when viewing the camera feed.
However, Google quickly fixed those issues on the original Nest Hub. The Fuchsia OS update for the Nest Hub Max went smoothly with no major issues reported. The company is now preparing to seed the new operating system into the Nest Audio smart speaker as well. Evidence of this was first spotted by 9to5Google in October. We now have proof of a nearing public release. We will let you know as soon as Google releases the Fuchsia OS update for the Nest Audio.
Google may also soon launch a new Fuchsia OS-powered Nest smart speaker
Google is readying a new smart speaker with ultra-wideband (UWB) connectivity. Codenamed Buckeye, the device is expected to run Fuchsia OS out of the box. While not much else is known about the product at the moment, the company upgrading the Nest Audio to the new operating system suggests the Buckeye could debut soon as a Nest Audio (2nd Gen) or a Nest Audio Pro.