Facebook is making its own operating system

Another interesting piece of news that's floating on the web is that Facebook wants to reduce its dependence on Google's Android operating system. The social network is reportedly developing its own operating system, which is expected to be used by future Facebook hardware like AR and VR headsets. Development of the operating system is led by Mark Lucovsky, who co-authored Microsoft's Windows NT operating system.

The report provides a limited amount of information about how the new operating system could be used, but it notes that both Facebook’s Oculus and Portal devices currently run on a modified version of Android. According to one of Facebook’s AR and VR heads, Ficus Kirkpatrick, “it’s possible” that Facebook’s future hardware won’t need to rely on Google’s software, which would reduce or remove entirely the control Google has over Facebook’s hardware. "Facebook’s last attempt at software didn’t go so well"

“We really want to make sure the next generation has space for us,” Facebook’s head of hardware, Andrew Bosworth, told The Information. “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.”