Motorola Partners With GrapheneOS to Bring Google-Free Android Alternative to Future Phones

At MWC 2026 on Monday, Motorola announced a partnership with the GrapheneOS Foundation that will let the privacy- and security-focused Android OS run on its devices. The alternative OS is marketed as a Google-free option for Android fans, but ironically, it's historically only worked on Google Pixel devices.

Just over a month ago, GrapheneOS stressed that current Motorola phones do not meet GrapheneOS's strict hardware and security requirements, but are getting there. The transition to compatibility clearly didn't take long.

GrapheneOS has set a high bar for secure hardware, firmware, and update policies. Its team has said that many existing Android devices, including Motorola phones on the market today, lack robust memory safety support, strong secure boot implementations, long‑term update guarantees, and other safety-related features that GrapheneOS offers.

Last October, GrapheneOS said it had worked with a major OEM on devices planned for 2027, and explained ...