Google LLC is launching what appears to be the first major pilot of its internally developed Fuchsia operating system.

The search giant told 9to5Google today that it began rolling out Fuchsia to devices from its 2018 Nest Hub smart display series this week. The operating system will initially be available to users who participate in Google’s Preview Program for firmware updates. Google plans to carry out the rollout over the course of several months.

Fuchsia is the search giant’s homegrown alternative to Linux, the operating system at the core of Android, Chrome OS and most Nest-branded smart home devices. Like Linux, Fuchsia is available under an open-source license, though relatively little is known about Google’s plans for the platform. The company launched the initial version of Fuchsia in 2016 and started accepting contributions from outside developers late last year.

The key feature setting Fuchsia apart from Linux is that it’s based on a so-called microkernel architecture. That means Fuchsia contains only the minimum amount of code necessary for an operating system to run, an approach with several advantages. One is that it theoretically improves security because fewer lines of code means fewer potential vulnerabilities for hackers to target. Depending on the implementation, a microkernel-based operating system can also provide better reliability.

Google’s move to make Fuchsia available on 2018 Nest Hub devices signals that the operating system is nearing a point where commercialization could become a possibility. At the same time, the company’s decision to release the operating system only to one version of one smart home device means that the initial pilot will likely be relatively limited in scope. That suggests Google plans to take a gradual approach with how it releases Fuchsia to consumers, which should give its developers time to address potential reliability and security issues.

Bloomberg reported in 2018 that the company was planning to start testing the operating system on smart home devices within three years. Google’s next step, according to the report, will be to bring Fuchsia to smartphones and laptops.

There are also other clues suggesting the search giant may move in that direction. Earlier this year, the developers working on the operating system began discussing the possibility of building a mechanism that would enable Fuchsia to run Android apps without any code modifications. Such a mechanism could make it easier for developers to make their apps available on the platform, an essential requirement to driving end-user adoption.

Image: Google