GrapheneOS is set to come to more Motorola smartphones
The Signature 27 is not intended to remain the only Motorola smartphone with GrapheneOS. This was announced by the organization behind the Google-free version of Android. However, Qualcomm will need to work on its chipsets for this to happen.
GrapheneOS has so far only been available for Google's Pixel devices. The Motorola Signature 27 is the first smartphone from another manufacturer on which the operating system is intended to run. However, there is no schedule or announcement yet as to when this will happen. The GrapheneOS Foundation has commented on some questions on Bluesky.
MTE as an important tool against security vulnerabilities
Regarding the comment that the price of the Signature 27 is "shockingly high," GrapheneOS explains that it is only the first device. There are expected to be more smartphones from Motorola that support the operating system. However, there is a great dependency on Qualcomm. A required security feature called "Memory Tagging Extension" (MTE) is currently only available with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, which is estimated to cost up to 300 euros. As soon as Qualcomm incorporates the feature into cheaper chipsets, GrapheneOS will also be able to run on more affordable smartphones.
Until then, only the expensive Signature 27 remains. For this device alone, several engineers and developers from Motorola are currently helping to port GrapheneOS to the smartphone.
GrapheneOS benefits from the cooperation with Motorola
Official support from Motorola could also help GrapheneOS in other areas. For instance, the smartphone manufacturer has a better chance of persuading Qualcomm to integrate MTE into other chips. Furthermore, there are other arguments for ensuring that banking and other critical apps are not trapped in the Play Store, but run officially under GrapheneOS.
Installing GrapheneOS on the Signature 27 is intended to be as easy as it has been on Pixel devices. It is possible that there will also be sales of devices with the Google-free operating system pre-installed.
Despite the high price of the Signature 27, the GrapheneOS Foundation is looking forward to a smartphone with significantly more performance. Compared to the Pixel 11 Pro XL, it expects 60 percent more CPU and 80 percent more GPU performance. In addition, the cameras are said to be "significantly better." To ensure that image quality is not compromised, the operating system is intended to support Motorola's camera app.
Pixel not yet written off
Despite the new partner and all the hurdles Google has created, the GrapheneOS Foundation is not giving up on Pixel smartphones. Since Android 16, there has been no more Pixel support in the Android Open Source Project. This increases the workload for the team, as they have to laboriously disassemble the software via reverse engineering in order to develop GrapheneOS.
The GrapheneOS Foundation continues to keep its invitation open to other manufacturers to open their devices to the operating system. To do so, however, they would have to meet high requirements, including MTE or seven years of software support.
As a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.
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