The Pixel 12 needs nothing short of a miracle to face the iPhone 20 and the Galaxy S27 Ultra

The GrapheneOS situation

There's something else that bugs me about the Pixel 11, though—something that makes me doubt the Pixel 12 will . It's not about the phone's specs, but about GrapheneOS.

For those unfamiliar, GrapheneOS is a privacy-focused Android operating system built on the Android Open Source Project, and it is designed to make common security vulnerabilities harder to exploit. It officially supports Pixel phones from the Pixel 6 through the Pixel 10a.

But the new Pixel 11 is not supported because Google removed hardware memory tagging (MTE). MTE helps detect memory-related bugs that can otherwise be used in security attacks and GrapheneOS relies on it extensively across the operating system.

OK, the Pixel 11 does bring other security upgrades, including the Titan M3 security chip and post-quantum cryptography, but GrapheneOS developers argue that these don't make up for losing MTE.

Google has previously said that memory-related bugs are a major source of security vulnerabilities, making the omission particularly notable. The GrapheneOS team has therefore advised security-conscious users to avoid the Pixel 11.

For hardcore Pixel aficionados, the loss of easy GrapheneOS support and the missing hardware security feature could be enough reason to look elsewhere. Will that change with the Pixel 12? Well, let's hope so, because rivalry is heating up.

The iPhone 20 will be special

We've not yet seen the iPhone 18 Pro, but I can guarantee you that the iPhone 20 (the iPhone 19 moniker will most likely be skipped in favor of the anniversary number 20) will be a hit.

It's too early to discuss specs and features, but Apple will surely be advertising and marketing the iPhone 20 like mad next year. And you know what happens when something is promoted and discussed all the time: eventually, people embrace it.

Sammy's Galaxy S27 Ultra move

It's not just the iPhone 20 that the Pixel 12 will have to face—it's Samsung's flagships, too.

The rumored battery boost (that I mentioned above) isn't the only upgrade that the Galaxy S27 Ultra would pack. Next year, the S27 Ultra is rumored to bring several major camera changes. The main camera could keep its 200 MP resolution but move to a larger 1/1.12-inch sensor, potentially with LOFIC technology for better dynamic range.

Samsung may also replace the current 10 MP 3x telephoto with a 50 MP 5x camera, while another rumor suggests the company is testing a 50 MP 4x telephoto with a much larger 1/1.9-inch sensor. The ultra-wide camera is also expected to move to 50 MP, meaning three of the S27 Ultra's rear cameras could get upgrades. The phone may also receive a 16 MP selfie camera, finally replacing the 12MP sensor Samsung has used for several generations.

Furthermore, there are many leaks that point to a radically redesigned camera layout, although reports disagree on whether Samsung will use a horizontal camera bar or a modified vertical arrangement.

The rocky road to fame

So, yeah, 2027 is shaping up to be a pretty interesting year for smartphones. Apple will have the iPhone 20 anniversary hype machine running at full speed, Samsung could finally start catching up on battery and camera hardware and Chinese brands will probably continue throwing ridiculous specs at us.

I genuinely want Google to surprise me with the Pixel 12, because a proper comeback is long overdue.