C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
I’ve introduced GrapheneOS to a lot of friends and acquaintances, and I often see a mix of excitement and hesitation. Not because GrapheneOS doesn’t deliver on its promises, but because it practically requires you to buy Google’s Pixel line of smartphones to use it. For an open-source project so laser-focused on delivering a private Android experience, the dependency on Google feels paradoxical.
There are good reasons for this, of course — Google is the only major phone maker that’s generous enough to let you install alternative operating systems. But luckily, that might not be the case for much longer. After years of being limited to just one hardware platform, the team behind GrapheneOS has confirmed they’re working with a “major Android OEM” to bake in official support for the operating system.
While we don’t have many details yet, we’re clearly on the cusp of the ultimate GrapheneOS phone. So with that in mind, should you buy a Google Pixel 10 series phone now, or wait for what might be the first device to list GrapheneOS support on the spec sheet? Here’s what I think as a long-time GrapheneOS proponent and user.
Are you looking forward to GrapheneOS' new phone? 26 votes Yes, that's the one I'm buying next! 38 % I'll wait and see, but I'm happy with my current Pixel running GrapheneOS. 19 % I'm very skeptical so I'll buy a Pixel instead. 15 % I don't care about GrapheneOS. 27 %
Is it worth buying a phone for GrapheneOS?
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
If you’ve never heard of GrapheneOS, you might be wondering what’s so special about it and why so many people base their smartphone buying decision based on its compatibility. Simply put, it’s a security and privacy-hardened fork of Android. You can replace the stock Pixel OS on modern Google phones with GrapheneOS with surprisingly little effort, and the list of benefits are plenty.
You see, Android phone makers need to bundle Google’s entire Play Services suite as part of an agreement with the search giant if they wish to include the Play Store. This is why we see apps like Chrome and Google Photos pre-installed on a Motorola or Xiaomi phone, but it doesn’t stop at those apps. The Google Play Services framework has deep, system-level access to your device, giving it unfettered access to sensitive data like location, network activity, and app usage.
The solution might seem simple: just get rid of it. But unlike other privacy-oriented Android forks, GrapheneOS doesn’t make your phone any less usable or convenient by stripping away features. Instead, it isolates and restricts Google’s system-level components while granting you greater control over various Android permissions. This means you can still access the Play Store and even banking apps, while limiting them from phoning home with your data in the background.
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