Facebook working on its own OS to reduce dependence on Android: Report

Facebook is working on its own operating system in a bid to reduce reliance on Google’s Android, according to a report by The Information. The OS team at Facebook is being led by Mark Lucovsky, an ex-Microsoft executive who co-authored the Windows NT operating system.

Presently, Facebook relies on a forked version of Android to power Portal and Oculus devices and the new OS is supposedly being developed to replace that. One of Facebook’s AR and VR head reportedly said it’s possible that future hardware from Facebook won’t have to rely on Google’s software.

The development could be prompted by the situation Huawei has found itself in, after the U.S Department of Commerce placed the company on its entity list barring US companies to do business with Huawei, including Google. As a result, Huawei was unable to make use of Google’s services in its smartphones.

Perhaps foreseeing a similar fate, Facebook too has started work on its own operating system to get around the control Google presently has over Facebook’s devices.

“We really want to make sure the next generation has space for us. We don’t think we can trust the marketplace or competitors to ensure that’s the case. And so we’re gonna do it ourselves,” Facebook’s head of hardware, Andrew Bosworth told The Information.

Along with its own operating system, Facebook is also reportedly working on its own silicon. The report corroborates previous reports from Bloomberg and Financial Times earlier this year that Facebook is working on its own chip to power its hardware, alongside its own voice assistant. Facebook is also working on a pair of AR glasses along with a brain control interface to go along with that. The project codenamed ‘Orion’ could come as early as 2023.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has attempted to make its own OS, however. Back in 2013, Facebook collaborated with HTC to make a Facebook-powered smartphone running a forked version of Android with Facebook apps at the forefront.

With the recent developments regarding privacy and data protection, Facebook still faces an uphill battle to get back into the good books of people before asking them to embrace its own software.

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