Motorola confirms GrapheneOS support for a future phone, bringing over features

It will be the same GrapheneOS as on Pixels. It’s not going to have any bloatware. It’s an entirely separate thing from their own operating system. They’re going to integrate some GrapheneOS features/concepts into their regular OS too but that’s a separate thing from GrapheneOS. https://xcancel.com/GrapheneOS/status/2028484613564248443#m

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Not entirely sure what they get out of it but kudos to Motorola for being the first to officially partner with GrapheneOS and put in a significant effort to meet the security/privacy requirements. Hopefully other OEMs follow suit.

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It was also done in a cool, bottom up way. One of their (allegedly) engineers infiltrated their Discord back in June, before they took it to the DMs. The public messages were still there last time I checked.

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https://xcancel.com/GrapheneOS/status/2028525082113417568#m

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Is it a little bit weird for security focused brand to cooperate with Chinese manufacturer? It is also a little bit weird the other way around. I am curious how this will go.

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Most phones are manufactured in China. Not weird at all as it’s largely unavoidable. There is a shift to India and Vietnam that has begun in recent years.

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True, but not all. I just wonder if they will have access to e.g. firmware code and stuff.

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You would be hard pressed to find a computing device that isn’t manufactured in China or doesn’t contain Chinese components. Does it matter if it’s a Chinese ODM with a European face (Fairphone) or a proper Chinese (Chinese-American really) OEM?

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I am not sure everyone understands that Motorola was founded in the US, and never moved away. Its headquarters are in Chicago. It was bought by Google and then sold to Lenovo in 2014, which became its only shareholder. It doesn’t mean that the company somehow does its business, work and everything from China! I see the Lenovo involvment more as financial (this is why the owner can change so easily) but Motorola operates from the US and is subject to U.S. law.

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I never said all.

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Sure, although if it’s just parts I’d argue that’s better than the whole package. Would rather see them partner with e.g. Sony. But I get it beggars can’t be choosers…

For now, yes, but Google’s policies aren’t the law and set in stone. I’m saying Motorola could potentially be an advocate for GrapheneOS in Google’s ear, and maybe could get some change done here.

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Disagree given how tied in to Lenovo’s products Motorola’s are now, Lenovo’s security solutions were mentioned in this very press release.

I do agree that I’m not particularly concerned about Chinese involvement in this case, but we should be realistic about how controlled by Lenovo Motorola actually is.

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I don’t understand, stigma is precisely what it is, how does calling it so make it so? What should we call it instead?

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Software is also a key part to the phone. I can’t imagine GOS compromising its reputation and not validating that the Motorola phone is safe to use. I’d assume the Motorola phone will be even safer to use if users are allowed to reflash the phone and not stuck with whatever comes out of the box.

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Sony phones also contain Chinese components. Your paranoia is causing you to think irrationally. You should look at the entirety of the product instead. Motorola can’t spy on you if they don’t have the software on your phone controlling the hardware. If the rumored kill switch materializes, I would trust the Motorola phone even more than a Google Pixel.

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It’s great news that GrapheneOS will finally be available on a new brand of smartphones!

However, I do have some concerns about security. From what I remember, GrapheneOS has always said that hardware security is less robust on other phones that don’t have the same processor as those on Pixel phones (Snapdragon). Should I worry?

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I don’t know if there is any reason Snapdragon phones are inherently less secure, I think it is just the case that all existing Snapdragon phones are currently less secure. If GrapheneOS can tell Motorola what needs to be improved and Motorola can do it, then it shouldn’t be an issue.

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I think I was reading about bugs popping up when attempting to get memory tagging working.

On an unrelated note, I just played with the new Samsung S26 Ultra’s privacy screen and I came away impressed! Have no idea why some people are already complaining. The technology does work! I’d love to see Motorola using this panel and implementing a kill switch in a future phone. That would be truly awesome!!!

Motorola and GOS should also collaborate on a tablet. We could definitely use one.

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What about the Pixel tablet? :stuck_out_tongue:

I have an HP laptop that has a button that turns the screen into a privacy display whenever I push it. It’s nowhere near as advanced as Samsung’s panel, but I still find it extremely useful nonetheless, so I’d also love to see Samsung’s even better tech in more devices.

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