This is not super related to privacy so let me know and I can change the tag to off-topic.
I’ve never had an android but I always kind of accepted that my next phone would be GrapheneOS. I wish the google pixel platform was more repairable, (please give us a GrapheneOS Fairphone in the US) but the phones get good reviews and I planned on getting one. With the news that Motorola is going to work with GrapheneOS and the excitement around it I’m left wondering, is the hardware very good? I don’t see Motorola coming up on any review lists except occasionally their folding platform which personally looks rather gimmicky.
What is the excitement about the hardware if it is a downgrade from what we had? I don’t like giving money to Google either, but Motorola/Lenovo is hardly much better in the grand scheme of things. Why should I (or you) get a Motorola phone if a Google Pixel has better specs and cameras?
Thanks for any opinions!
I think the chip will be a lot better—Google’s tensor chips are notoriously weak.
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It has been confirmed if I remember what I read correctly that these new GOS compatible Moto phones will be flagship level. So, yes.
You are really buying these devices for the OS, not the hardware necessarily because its GOS you want to run. And you get the hardware you get on whatever it is supported on. So, thinking too much about hardware is not the right way to be going about it.
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To me it doesn’t really matter if the current iteration of motorola phones are “good” or not.
We know the ones capable of installing GOS will meet all the hardware requirements and have basically the same user experience. To me, the question of motorola vs pixel is really going to be a battle of the margins.
We don’t know what phones they will release with gos yet so that remains unknown. Once they are out that will the moment to review it.
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I’m low key hoping for them to showcase the hardware at-least at the next CES. If Moto does, good chance it’s one or all of them that GOS will run on.
my experiences with Motos have all been great. i don’t need a super performant device to click my authenticator or doom scroll or check email. nobody does. and, quite frankly, i don’t need a bazillion MP camera either, let alone six. so, for me, the fact that GOS is going Moto is just full of win. price points will be fantastic and it will put more useful privacy tools in the hands where, frankly, they need it most: the bottom tiers. nothing like waking up a public to basic infosec like a GOS phone OOB experience.
An absence of choice makes one’s choice easier. There is that. Also we might get a foldable phone with Razr line-up (a bit more affordable than current Pixel Fold 10 pro), which has some advantages screen protection and size wise. Not to forget, there are some decent accessories available for their foldables, like physical keyboards (Clicks Keyboard case transforms the Motorola Razr flip). If you have some blackberry muscle memory in you, of course.
I used to get Motorola phones for their long battery life. Looking around at review sites and comparisons in 2026, Moto phones seem to to do well in that area.
Edit: actually, the more battery life reviews I read, the more random the overall results for 2026 seem.
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The GOS x Motorola phone is likely to be high end, like the Pixels. I expect possibly something along Moto’s “Signature” line (gsmarena review / mirror).
And yes, Motorola does make pretty good phones. As do other China-based OEMs (Xiaomi & BBK) and Taiwan-based OEMs (Acer & Asus). Comparatively, Pixels are almost always overpriced for the spec; though, I exclusively recommend Pixels to anyone who can afford it, regardless of whether they’d flash GrapheneOS/CalyxOS.
Moto’s midrange “Edge” series do have overheating issues, though they do tend to pack a pretty decent battery unit. With fast charging (especially 90w & 120w) on offer on decent midrange Androids, I don’t particularly worry about “battery life” anymore.
I would recommend their “Edge” series for the “vanilla” Android feel (though, they have been guilty of overindulging in too many mods of late), the (shatter-resistant) POLED screens, the “thinness” of some of their “Edge” variants, & the quad-curved screen (though, some who aren’t used to these may come to hate it).
I only know that guys from Ukraine reverce-engineered Motorolla and created guide to unlock bootloaders on “unsupported” for unlocking devices
https://www.fuckyoumoto.xyz/
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