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ZDNET's key takeaways
In 2027, a major phone OEM will ship phones with a new open-source OS.
Security and privacy are the big selling points of Motorola's GrapheneOS phones.
Some users are concerned about Motorola's Chinese ownership.
Some people dislike Android and iOS because the platforms are controlled by major companies and lack privacy. For those folks, alternative operating systems -- such as e/OS, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) LibrePhone, and the GrapheneOS Foundation's GrapheneOS -- are attractive options. There's just one problem. No major smartphone vendor sells handsets with these OSes preinstalled -- until now.
At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Motorola (a Lenovo company) announced a partnership with the GrapheneOS Foundation to deliver GrapheneOS, a privacy-focused Android fork, on future Motorola smartphones starting in 2027.
Also: Best of MWC 2026: We found the biggest news from Lenovo, Xiaomi, Honor, more
Founded in 2014 as a non-profit, GrapheneOS builds on Android Open Source Project (AOSP), an open-source mobile operating system that includes privacy enhancements such as fortified app sandboxes and toggles for network or sensor access.
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