Needing specific phones to run an OS is one of the greatest failures of the modern mobile ecosystem.
this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2026
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It is an Android problem but with GrapheneOS specifically simply being supported is not enough for the devs.
Graphene said other phones don't meet their security requirements.
When I said I have high hopes I didn't mean the price.
In this day and age Motorola knows people will pay extra for privacy and the convenience of not having to install an OS on their phone.
The phone won't come with Graphene installed. It will just be capable of running it.
i mean everything would be higher than pixels because google heavily subsidises pixels to get their data collection in your hands.
They're mid-tier hardware at flagship prices.
And they do the thing just fine.
Tbh I wouldnt call a Pixel 10 camera "just fine", it is pretty damn impressive
"the thing" being running GrapheneOS ofc
And also just being a decent smart phone.
I can't complain. I love buying old pixels for $100.
When you strip out the google bloat, they run great!
there are many decent smartphones available for less money than pixels though, even from motorola
Yeah and they are insecure and probably have very short and incomplete software updates
Phones are sadly not general purpose computers
If they're insecure then there is an easy way to exploit it to root/flash it with a better OS if that wasn't already possible. Not everyone wants to drop $900 on a hunk of plastic.
It is easier to break something than to reverse engineer drivers and firmware and maintain yourself XD
Also, firmware updates need to be signed so it is impossible to update, unless there is a really bad vulnerability
And you can buy phones used, my most expensive one was under 400€
With all original Qualcomm’s CVE's. The next honeypot.
You usually buy phones intended for custom roms used, so the release price doesnt really matter imo. The question is how longlived will they be. Swappable battery? Stuff like that.
True. For this specific case dont expect low used prices.
Experts take care and dont sell their devices.
Dumb people buy the new phone and then sell it because they switched to an iPhone or something... dumb. That is why there are so many low-spec Pixels on the used market. Try finding a 500gb Pixel pro used!
Same will be the case with used top tier Motorola phones. Lower userbase and those people are less likely to sell them.
A Pixel 9/10 is kinda premium but the normal one. The a is the lower tier but also runs GrapheneOS. But the a is not the generally advertized model for cheaper, it is released separately and has obvious downsides because you always have a direct comparison. It is simply way less likely for people to buy "the regular Pixel" (which is kinda premium) than for people to buy the top tier Motorola
If Graphene is in control of production in any way: Probably about 7 or more years of support
If Motorola is in control: it may be DOA
Not wanting that to happen but Motorola's track record is NOT good at all for that kind of thing.
Motorola is doing the porting at the moment. But yeah its hard to say. Ideally tho we need Qualcomm and Samsung to bring higher end security to lower end processors to get more options
I seriously doubt Motorola/Lenovo is "doing the porting", I don't see the GrapheneOS letting others mess with the software. The GrapheneOS team are going to control the production of the hardware to their specs and then install the software after the sale or even sell it themselves.
I understood this like porting Android to some other chip? But yeah no idea what that means
Read the text carefully: Motorola is porting firmware/drivers to GrapheneOS specifications. Not actual GrapheneOS code.
Yesterday Graphene OS Lemmy drama was the fact that moto is doing all the porting.
"DOA on arrival" ... you know the OA already stands for on arrival right?
RIP in peace
its almost like an mistake happened.
Did you know that pointing out unimportant tautology is the first sign of being a douche-bag?
Why the hyphen?
Douch-e-bag
rip my moto x :(
Will these still be considered "criminal phones" by the governments that already make that claim against GrapheneOS users?
Considering that GrapheneOS runs on devices as old and cheap as Pixel 6, and previously supported earlier versions too, the refusal to produce cheaper models seems almost malicious.
GrapheneOS does not require fancy hardware besides a security chip.
Well, their requirements increased since Pixels got arm memory tagging in the 8 generation. The 11 would be more secure than a 7 for example but they are still uncertain about supporting them, because it is a clear security downgrade
My suspicion is that this is partially risk based pricing for Motorola. They know some people value privacy, but they aren't banking on lots. So if they're putting the work in on this they want to see the value back.
Fair, but, as per the article, these devices will ship without GrapheneOS, so they'll be mostly focused on regular consumers. This is not some GrapheneOS-first model, even if they've done some work to assist GrapheneOS project.
Pixel 6 isn't cheap.
$200 for a new Pixel 6 in my area. The Motorola device described in the article is expected to come at $1000+.
Dont buy anything older than an 8 currently. Think about support lifespan, the Pixel 6 will be EOL in one month!
Indeed! I'd rather go for Pixel 8 and up, I merely mentioned that GrapheneOS does not need too fancy of a hardware.
Neat table on that second link though! And actually comprehensible even without speaking much German lol
Saw this the other day. Bought a new battery for my nothing phone 1. Gonna install evolutionX vanilla tomorrow on it. Hopeful that it'll last a couple of years more.
Pixel 6 is EOL in a month (or so). After that there will be no GrapheneOS support omce Google ends security updates on it. https://endoflife.date/pixel
I'll buy one if it's a flip.
And if no one buys it, it will be a flop.
I've heard one of the developers is a Frenchman that only wears slippers.
Philippe Pheloppe.