Google's Fuchsia OS has been in development for a few years, but it wasn't until 2021 that it started reaching some of the company's hardware, the first-gen Nest Hub smart display, followed by the Nest Hub Max in June last year. Earlier this month, the company began silently rolling out Fuchsia OS to some Nest Hub (2nd Gen) units, provided they are enrolled in the Preview Program via the Google Home app. The update is now making its way to more 2nd Gen Nest Hubs users under the same Preview Program.

The update has no UI or UX changes, with the primary objective being to bring parity with the first-gen Nest Hub and the Nest Hub Max. Since nothing's visually different following the update, the only way to tell if your smart display is on the new OS is to head over to Settings > Device Information > Technical Information. If your Nest Hub (2nd Gen) has been updated, you will notice the mention of Fuchsia Version 10.20221207.2.100038, while the Cast firmware listed here is 1.68.356352.

Despite the lack of major additions, 9to5Google spotted one minor change which could improve device owners' ability to pair a new device or use the smart display as a Bluetooth speaker. These new options are situated within the Bluetooth menu under Settings.

The update is seemingly appearing in phases, even to those on the Preview Program. So if you don't see it yet, you could be included in the next phase of the rollout, likely to happen over the next several weeks. There's still no clarity on when the update will reach Nest Hub (2nd Gen) smart displays that aren't signed up for the Preview Program.

Back in January, an extensive report detailed Google's plans to terminate up to 16% of the 400 people working on Fuchsia OS. This indicates a realignment of Google's strategies with regard to Fuchsia, which hasn't quite taken off as it was supposed to. This was preceded by reporting about a future Google smart home device that would run Fuchsia OS out of the box. However, it's still unknown how or if the layoffs have affected the development of this mystery smart home product.