GrapheneOS, a privacy-focused Android operating system, has announced a partnership with a major smartphone manufacturer, according to PiunikaWeb. This collaboration will bring the OS to future Snapdragon-powered flagship devices, signaling a potential end to its exclusivity with Google’s Pixel phones.
Until this announcement, GrapheneOS was available solely on Google Pixel phones. This exclusivity made Google’s devices a preferred choice among privacy-conscious users, including journalists and security researchers. A Spanish police report from early this year also suggested its use by organized crime groups in Catalonia. The project indicated that this long-standing Pixel-only support may end by 2026 or 2027, expanding the OS’s availability to a wider hardware base for the first time.
The decision to partner with another manufacturer follows public criticism from the GrapheneOS project regarding Google’s security patch timelines. GrapheneOS has argued that Google’s release schedule leaves security vulnerabilities exposed for extended periods, sometimes for months. By working with a new original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the project aims to secure earlier access to security patches. This move would allow GrapheneOS to maintain its stringent security standards with greater independence from Google’s update cycles.
For current Google Pixel owners using GrapheneOS, there will be no immediate change. The project confirmed that it will continue to support all existing Pixel devices until they reach their official end-of-life date for updates. Looking forward, the project has also affirmed that support is planned for the upcoming Pixel 10 model. However, a decision regarding support for the subsequent Pixel 11 has not yet been made and remains under consideration by the GrapheneOS team.
In a public Reddit thread, GrapheneOS provided further details on the new collaboration, stating it has been working with a “major Android OEM” since June 2025. The objective of this partnership is to enable official GrapheneOS support for “future versions of their existing models.” A significant technical distinction for these new devices will be their use of flagship Snapdragon processors. This represents a notable departure from the in-house Tensor chips that power Google’s recent Pixel smartphones.
The project explained that its previous exclusivity was due to its strict security and update requirements, which, until recently, only Google’s Pixel devices had met. The new partnership signals that another manufacturer is now capable of matching these high standards. GrapheneOS also shared that the forthcoming devices from its new partner will be available globally as part of the manufacturer’s standard product lineup. The pricing for these phones is expected to be “similarly to Pixels,” placing them in the same market segment as Google’s flagship offerings.
GrapheneOS has not disclosed the name of its partner OEM. This has led to public speculation that the company could be Nothing, partly because Nothing is one of the few OEMs that permit bootloader unlocking on its devices, a necessary prerequisite for installing a custom operating system like GrapheneOS. The original report notes, however, that Nothing does not currently fit the description of a “major Android OEM.”
