Is there anything significant? is it mostly the same hardware and not worth it? if someone wants to buy a pixel, should they just get a pixel 9 instead?
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In regards to security, the latest Pixels are typically preferred as they’ll have the longest-lasting security update guarantees and will include the latest security features. However, a major downside is it’s uncertainty over if and when it’ll be supported by GrapheneOS. I’d assume it’ll eventually be supported but the community is recommending people hold off buying it until it actually is supported.
People in that thread are also speculating that GrapheneOS could be in contact with Nothing, so that may be an alternative in the future.
If you’re just asking about general performance, I’m unsure… I’d just watch some reviews.
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We will likely see massive discounts on the Pixel 9 series soon, and it has the guarantee of custom operating system support. It’s still got just over 6 years of software updates, so you can’t go wrong with a Pixel 9 or even a Pixel 8. (5 years of updates)
Leaked benchmarks show that the Tensor G5 is ~20-40% faster since they have switched from Samsung to TSMC fabrication. Honestly as a Pixel 9 owner I have never had issues in day to day performance, however it’s likely we will see further improvements in performance in the next few generations of Pixel devices.
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Does Qualcomm or MediaTek have a SoC in the works that meets GrapheneOS’ requirements? Nothing is a pretty small company (by smartphone maker standards) and I doubt they have the resources to design a chip themselves.
Google could totally rugpull this if they wanted.
Not saying they would, but it isn’t guaranteed either at this point.
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I recall seeing people in the GrapheneOS community claim that Samsung would qualify if they allowed for the secure installation of other operating systems, so my guess is that there are other SoC’s currently in use which meet their criteria, but don’t quote me on that.
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ARM V9 cores support MTE. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 uses V9 cores for example.
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