Is ‘Pigweed’ Google’s New Operating System Like Fuchsia OS?

We have already seen various leaks and rumors about Google’s upcoming Fuchsia OS. But according to the latest leak, Google has filed a trademark for a new operating system dubbed ‘Pigweed.’

To date, Google has developed multiple operating systems including the most popular Android OS along with ChromeOS and Fuchsia OS which was trademarked two years ago. But according to the trademark application, Pigweed has been filed 10 days ago.

The application for Pigweed was first spotted by Redditor lgats, on the USPTO website. Google states in the application that the Pigweed trademark registration covers “computer operating software” category.

9to5Google managed to spot Pigweed in the Chromium code repository and in a proposed code change for the Fuchsia OS. But later on, the name was changed from “pigweed” to “fuchsia.”

What is Pigweed?

Right about now, there might be one question on your mind: “what the hell is pigweed?”

Pigweeds (also known as amaranths) are leafy, edible and nutritious plants according to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. When the plant matures, it dries out and form tumbleweeds that are eventually carried by the wind spreading their seeds.

Google Pigweed: A new OS or just another name for Fuchsia OS?

9to5Google says that Google Pigweed was first mentioned in the code for Fuchsia OS. After it was spotted, the reference to “pigweed” was switched with “fuchsia.”

So there is a possibility that Fuchsia and Pigweed are the same or at the very least, related to each other.

That being said, this reference could just be a typo made by the developer who proposed the change. So, we cannot conclude on the basis of just one evidence.

But the developer in question is involved in multiple Google projects, and the other devs in the conversation seemed to be aware of what Google Pigweed is. So this isn’t just a coincidence.

9to5Google also mentions a second reference to Pigweed is in Google’s Chromium code repository. It is actually present in the code related to “Monorail,” which is the issue tracker used for Chrome and some of the other Google projects.

When can we expect to see Google Pigweed OS?

This is the biggest question right now. We have absolutely no idea when Google would unwrap Pigweed. If the past is anything to go by, the name “Android” was trademarked just five days before it was first unveiled in 2007.

The same goes for “Chromebook” which was trademarked months before the first Chromebooks were shipped in 2011. Whereas “Fuchsia” was trademarked two years ago but it hasn’t been unveiled officially yet.

For now, we will have to wait until Google decides to reveal more about Pigweed or we figure out what purpose the OS will serve.