A man using a Motorola phone. | Image by Motorola.
If you are into custom OSes, you might have heard of GrapheneOS. For those unaware, it's basically a privacy- and security-focused Android operating system that has remained exclusive to Google Pixel smartphones. That's fortunately changing very soon, as Motorola has announced a partnership with GrapheneOS at MWC 2026.
Motorola phones to feature GrapheneOS
At the start of this year, GrapheneOS teased that it would soon leave its Pixel exclusivity and become available for one more Android OEM. While the exact name was not disclosed, a hint about that OEM was provided. The hint suggested that it's a well-known non-European brand that ranks in the top 10 in terms of smartphone sales. That brand's smartphone must feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC to support the OS.
While everyone was busy with the guessing game, an image (apparently from a Motorola presentation slide) was recently shared on the GrapheneOS subreddit. A part of the image was the security section, which had the mention of GrapheneOS, suggesting a potential partnership between the two.
A reddit post on r/GrapheneOS recently leaked an internal presentation of Motorola wherein "GrapheneOS" was seen highlighted as a Motorola's Security features. Moderators have since then deleted this post on reddit. pic.twitter.com/aqD90ituaZ
Just a few days after that image surfaced online, a long-term partnership between Motorola and GrapheneOS was confirmed at the ongoing MWC 26. The partnership announcement states that Motorola will soon launch a phone that will come with GrapheneOS pre-installed. It was also announced that certain features of the custom OS will be made available to other Motorola devices.
It is worth noting that it hasn't been made clear exactly which features the Lenovo-owned company could bring to its devices. Furthermore, it's also unclear exactly which upcoming Motorola phone will support the privacy-focused OS. The company's latest flagship, the Motorola Signature, is not compatible with the OS as it lacks the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, which is one of the requirements. According to OS officials, Motorola's current flagship is the closest compatible smartphone, but it still doesn't have everything needed.
Why only Motorola?
You might wonder why GrapheneOS partnered only with Motorola and not any other brand. The answer to this lies in how well other smartphone brands meet the requirements to run this OS. Let's start with everyone's favorite, Samsung.
The Knox security model and the restrictive bootloader create a very unfriendly environment for custom OSes like GrapheneOS. The bootloader unlocking policies of brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are also very restrictive, making them unsuitable for the OS. Huawei smartphones fulfill most of the requirements, but unfortunately they don't feature Snapdragon processors, which eventually eliminates them from the contender list as well.
In the end, we are basically left with Motorola, which doesn't have very restrictive unlock policies. It also uses Qualcomm chips in its phones, fulfilling the processor requirement of the OS.
Which of these GrapheneOS features do you like the most?
When could we see GrapheneOS on a Motorola phone?
A man holding the Moto G Power. | Image by PhoneArena
As mentioned above, the tech giant didn't specify exactly which of its upcoming phones is going to feature the privacy-focused OS, let alone reveal its release date. However, replying to a comment on X, GrapheneOS officials recently confirmed that the device could launch sometime in 2027. It was also stated that initially the phone was planned for a 2026 launch, but that's not going to happen as the Android OEM (which has now been confirmed to be Motorola) wasn't able to fulfill all the hardware requirements.
Whenever and on whichever device the OS becomes available, I am excited to try out some of its incredible features. I would really like to test its ability to physically kill sensor switches. This feature has actually been confirmed to be coming to a non-Pixel device that will support GrapheneOS. In addition to that, I'm also looking forward to running Google apps without giving Google system-level access.
Aman Kumar is a tech news writer with a long-standing passion for smartphones. Aman specializes in everything smartphones, from AI features like Pixel’s Camera Coach to understanding ideal hardware combinations. He loves breaking down complex features in a simple, clear way and hopes manufacturers bring back bold designs like the Nokia N-Gage. When he’s not writing, he’s either gaming on PUBG or talking fitness as a dedicated gym enthusiast.
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