MicroPythonOS graphical operating system delivers Android-like user experience

Summary

Yesterday, I wrote about Ariel OS RTOS for microcontrollers written in Rust, but there’s another interesting open-source operating system for microcontrollers that will be covered at FOSDEM 2026: MicroPythonOS. While Ariel OS is designed for secure, memory-safe, networked IoT applications on microcontrollers, MicroPythonOS targets applications with graphical user interfaces and is heavily inspired by Android and iOS, with an appstore, an LVGL-based touchscreen and button UI with plenty of widgets, gestures and theme support, and a wifi manager, as well as over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates. You’ll probably be astonished to learn that MicroPythonOS is written in… MicroPython. It’s comprised of a Thin OS which handles hardware initialization, multitasking, and UI, and everything else is an app, including system features like WiFi configuration and OS updates. MicroPythonOS highlights: Native MicroPython foundation Runs on ESP32 microcontrollers, but the FOSDEM 2026 talk mentions that it can run on anything that supports MicroPython, including the Raspberry Pi RP2350. Since it’s cross-platform, it can also run on Windows, Linux, and macOS (mostly useful for app development and evaluation) Android-like touch screen UI with gestures App Store for easy app access Over-The-Air (OTA) updates Supports touch screens, IMUs, and cameras Fast and lightweight performance, suitable for resource-constrained devices Quick boot times Camera app in AppStore (left) and scanning a QR code (right) Right now, five apps are pre-installed: Launcher, WiFi for wireless configuration, AppStore to install more apps, OSUpdate for OTA system updates, and Settings. The AppStore features various apps, including Hello World, Camera, Image Viewer, and IMU to visualize the motion sensor data, among others, all with source code available. It can be used to create smart home controllers, educational tools with interactive displays, decentralized payment systems, portable touch screen devices, robotics ...