When Will GrapheneOS Be Available on Motorola Phones?
Many of us don’t think much about what operating system is installed on our smartphones. At first glance, it seems like there are only two options: iOS for iPhone owners and Android for all other phones. But in reality, things are much more complicated: many smartphone manufacturers other than Apple offer their own versions of Android, which provide a slightly different user experience. For example, Samsung has One UI, OnePlus (RIP) has OxygenOS, and Nothing has Nothing OS. (The Pixel comes with stock Android, as Google develops both the hardware and software.)
However, the world of mobile OSs is much deeper. If you’re tech-savvy (and don’t have an iPhone), you can install a new OS on your smartphone that will provide additional controls or features unavailable on Android. GrapheneOS is one such custom OS, and the list of devices it supports will soon grow.
What is GrapheneOS?
GrapheneOS is an open-source mobile OS designed with privacy and security in mind. Although built on the Android Open Source Project, it utilizes a number of privacy and security features to prevent common vulnerabilities and block malicious trackers from accessing your data. Because it’s built on Android, it supports Android apps but doesn’t include Google apps or services by default. However, it doesn’t block Google Play completely: users can install Google Play in a sandbox, which limits access to Google apps and services on their phone.
It’s important to note that GrapheneOS imposes a long list of requirements on manufacturers before deciding to support new devices . These key requirements include the ability to run alternative OSes with full access to hardware security, a commitment to providing updates for at least five years, the integration of secure elements, and hardware-based memory labeling, among many others. If you want to use this custom OS, which prioritizes privacy and security, you’ll either need to carefully select your new smartphone or hope that your preferred manufacturer will create a device that meets these requirements in the future.
The GrapheneOS operating system will appear on Motorola phones next year.
At the time of writing, GrapheneOS is only supported by Google Pixel phones, although GrapheneOS doesn’t necessarily recommend all supported Pixel models. The OS will run on the Pixel 6 and newer (except the Pixel 11), but GrapheneOS recommends at least the Pixel 8 or newer due to Google’s minimum seven-year support and the Pixel 8’s hardware memory designation.
However, Pixel won’t be the only choice for GrapheneOS for long. The OS developer is partnering with Motorola to bring GrapheneOS support to their phones. And, as The Verge reports , GrapheneOS recently announced several important updates in this regard. It’s worth noting that Motorola’s 2027 lineup of “flat” phones (in other words, non-foldable) is currently planned to be the first to support GrapheneOS, which is expected to support the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chips. GrapheneOS explained its thinking in a discussion thread on Mastodon : it states that current-generation Motorola phones, including the Motorola Signature, Razr Fold, and Razr Ultra, are “very close” to meeting the aforementioned security requirements, but they lack some important features expected in the 2027 Motorola lineup, including adequate secure element integration.
GrapheneOS also emphasizes its enthusiasm for Snapdragon chips, which it claims offer better CPU and GPU performance, as well as isolated components (such as cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth), compared to Google’s proprietary Tensor chip. GrapheneOS claims that Tensor was in many ways “a step or a step back” compared to Snapdragon, but offered security advantages that Snapdragon hasn’t yet achieved—though that appears to be changing. While GrapheneOS has become more difficult to work with on Pixel devices in recent years, the company states that Motorola has done much of the work to integrate GrapheneOS into its devices, which is encouraging: “I anticipate that users who choose to install GrapheneOS will find it well-optimized.”
GrapheneOS has announced plans to support Motorola’s foldable and flip phones. The company claims to already support the Pixel Fold, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold, so the foldable form factor isn’t new to the company. However, a flip phone is a new design for the company. GrapheneOS is also working on support for 11th-generation Pixel devices.