Custom ROM GrapheneOS coming to smartphones from major manufacturer

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The custom ROM GrapheneOS, considered one of the most secure, is currently only available for Google's Pixel smartphones. This is about to change: the developers are currently working with a large, unnamed smartphone manufacturer to break the Pixel exclusivity.

GrapheneOS for high-end smartphones in development

As a GrapheneOS moderator writes in a post on the subreddit, the custom ROM developer is "working with a large OEM." They will rely on existing models for the hardware, which will be equipped with a flagship Snapdragon chip "to ensure the best security and support times." According to the moderator, Qualcomm's current Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be used, which was only unveiled at the end of September.

He further states that the Snapdragon chips deliver "significantly better CPU and GPU performance than Pixel devices." In addition, Snapdragon SoCs contain "high-quality Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GNSS, and cellular support," as well as eSIM support and other features. Snapdragon processors also have "decent image processing capabilities and good acceleration for neural networks."

The devices are expected to be priced at a similar level to Pixel models and will be available for purchase in many countries.

GrapheneOS support for Pixel 10 secured

In another post, the moderator writes that the new partner's current devices do not meet the high requirements. The upcoming smartphones are "a subset of their future devices that will then meet the requirements and offer official GrapheneOS support."

The GrapheneOS moderator further confirms support for the Pixel 10 series, but development based on Android 16 QPR1 is more work than before. He cannot provide a timeline for the completion of GrapheneOS for Google's current Pixel series.

It could still be several months before the first generation of GrapheneOS-optimized smartphones is released. They are unsure whether it will happen before or after the release of the Pixel 11. "We don't know if we want to go through the trouble of supporting new Pixels again when we have an OEM helping us properly support their devices," explains the moderator. The GrapheneOS device from the hardware partner is therefore likely not to be expected until the third quarter of 2026, as Google now unveils its Pixel smartphones in August.

Google makes custom ROM development more difficult

For months now, the creators of the custom ROM GrapheneOS have indicated that they want to become more independent from Google's Pixel devices. This is because Google is making it more difficult to develop custom ROMs for its smartphones: With the release of Android 16, Google did release the source code of the new OS version in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), allowing independent developers to compile their own forks of the operating system under the rather permissive Apache 2.0 license. However, the company has not released the device trees, driver binaries, and complete kernel source code commit history that were previously released simultaneously. This puts obstacles in the way of Android developers of custom ROMs like GrapheneOS, /e/OS, or LineageOS.

This step by Google is a hard blow, especially for GrapheneOS. The developers only offer their software for Google devices because Pixel smartphones receive security patches most regularly and they meet the other high requirements of the hardened operating system. With a hardware partner at their side, the development of GrapheneOS is easier than it is currently, as the developers ultimately get all the Android resources from the manufacturer that have been denied to them for some time.

The whole thing is a bit reminiscent of the partnership between OnePlus and the custom ROM CyanogenMod, which was merged into LineageOS nine years ago. However, the partnership between the two failed shortly thereafter, as OnePlus, among other things, prioritized the development of its own Android user interface OxygenOS.

(afl)