Will GrapheneOS continue to be supported on Pixels

Arctix

Hello, I am new to GrapheneOS. I have an iPhone, but I am interested in my next phone being an android that uses grapheneos. However, I read a very confusing reddit thread about if the OS will work with the upcoming version of Android. I wouldn’t say I am super tech savvy, but, I’m also not completely clueless (I have had an android or two before). Even so, I felt like I had a hard time seeing a straight answer in the thread.

Can someone help me understand? When I am due for an upgrade, if I go buy an unlocked Pixel in a year or so, will graphene still be compatible?

Thank you!

(Also, if there is another thread answering this,
please let me know. I am new to this forum.)

ryrona

Arctix if I go buy an unlocked Pixel in a year or so, will graphene still be compatible?

All the Pixel devices that are supported today will keep being supported in the future.

It is unknown what plans Google have for future Pixel devices, such as Pixel 10 and onwards. They might decide to no longer allow flashing custom operating systems, at which point GrapheneOS will not be able to support those. But that does not affect already released devices already supported by GrapheneOS.

Arctix

ryrona this is good to know. how long of a life would you say pixels have when attached to graphene? like, say google made it so future devices couldn’t do it. if I got a pixel from the year before, would it be supported for a while?

Tandara

Simply put, GOS is not going anywhere and will continue supporting all the currently supported models alongside the upcoming Pixel series. It's just that it will take a longer time to merge major releases due to Google no longer providing 'device support files' for pixels (they will have to reverse-engineer the support). AOSP is not going anywhere as well.

Arctix

Tandara thank you this makes way more sense that what I was reading. What is AOSP again? i’ve seen that acronym listed other places and looked into it, but I don’t quite understand

matchboxbananasynergy

Arctix AOSP stands for 'Android Open Source Project'.

Tandara

Arctix AOSP is basically a pure and open-source Android that everyone uses to build their own 'version' of Android. All the manufacturers, be it Samsung, Xiaomi, or any other brand use it to make their custom OS.

matchboxbananasynergy

Arctix See the table here: https://grapheneos.org/faq#device-lifetime

Tandara

Arctix The model will stay supported as long as GOS devs wish to continue supporting it (likely 5-7 years if going by the current trends)

twitheatrophonic

matchboxbananasynergy i hope graphene phone is available until the end of 6a so i can switch to that. After using graphene, Using other os feels scary

Arctix

Tandara oh wow 5-7 years. so maybe that means, if I got a pixel 9 pro (is that the correct name?), it should last 5-7 years even if, say, new pixel phones weren’t supported?

matchboxbananasynergy

Arctix Correct.

Arctix

twitheatrophonic scary an in not private and secure? as i’ve been learning more about privacy and security, and about tech companies and the data they collect, being an ios and (currently) an icloud user is scary as well