State of Pixel 10 & GOS devices advice

gruvw

1) Is Pixel 10 support now stable or still experimental?

I'm still hesitant to buy a Pixel 10 or wait for the new OEM. For me the only thing that would make me buy the new OEM's device would be if it was more repairable than Google's Pixel.

I've had my current phone for 7 years, changed the battery myself two times already, but it's really starting to fall apart now... I'll probably need a replacement in 2026. I was going to buy the Fairphone, because of production ethics and repeatability so I can keep it for many years to come, but I'm very privacy conscious and GOS seems like too good of a solution to not use it. However Pixels are very difficult to repair yourself.

2) What should I do? Keep waiting with my current phone at risk of it dying on me any time until the new OEM is annonced at the risk that it isn't more repairable than the Pixel 10? or pull the trigger and buy the Pixel 10 now but risk having to change it in 3-4 years (or even earlier) because I can't fix it if something breaks?

3) Why doesn't Graphene's team announce the OEM now? It's a little bit annoying not to know and I don't understand the benefits of keeping it a secret.

Note that I'm not considering to buy a temporary phone in the meantime just for 1 year before the new OEM's device become available.

de0u

gruvw Is Pixel 10 support now stable or still experimental?

The 10-series devices are listed as "supported" in the FAQ: https://grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices

gruvw What should I do? Keep waiting with my current phone at risk of it dying on me any time until the new OEM is annonced at the risk that it isn't more repairable than the Pixel 10?

I think the team has suggested that the device will be a mass-market device from a high-volume producer. So, personally, I wouldn't expect it to be dramatically more repairable than the Pixel 10. It might turn out to be less repairable, about the same, or more repairable, of course. If it is a mass-market device from a high-volume producer, that will presumably come with a variety of benefits, such as some sort of repair network, wide carrier acceptance, and so on.

gruvw Why doesn't Graphene's team announce the OEM now? It's a little bit annoying not to know and I don't understand the benefits of keeping it a secret.

I believe the GrapheneOS team has said that it's up to the OEM to announce, according to their timeline. Companies consider all sorts of factors when deciding when to announce something -- for example, some companies have a typical time of year for making announcements.

userofgos

gruvw 1) Is Pixel 10 support now stable or still experimental?

https://xcancel.com/GrapheneOS/status/2013367840191963375#m

Pixel 10 support is no longer considered experimental since after our 2026011000 release which fixed the USB issues impacting 10th gen Pixels:

dc32f0cfe84def651e0e

gruvw isn't more repairable than the Pixel 10

Pixels are supposed to get better in terms of reparability https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/30888-a-new-hope-for-battery-replacement-in-pixels

Psyonico

Last I read, the OEM likely won't release until 2027.

Blastoidea

I would be interested to know what guarantee/reassurance this mysterious manufacturer will give that their phone is as secure as a Pixel.

wizoatk

Blastoidea [...] their phone is as secure as a Pixel.

I don't think there should be any expectation that this will be either true at launch or exists as a current requirement. The explicit expectation is that the OEM will meet the existing stated requirements for future devices. It will be a reasonable alternative for some people. I would expect that assurance would come from GrapheneOS. If you're going to believe anyone ...

de0u

Blastoidea I would be interested to know what guarantee/reassurance this mysterious manufacturer will give that their phone is as secure as a Pixel.

If Google issues a guarantee of how secure Pixels are, I've overlooked it. There is a fair amount of design documentation and some informative blog posts. In addition, various people have read various parts of the source code (and some serious people have analyzed some of the binaries).

As a practical matter, if one wants to see what a variety of serious security people think of the new platform, some people might choose to wait two to six months after it's available. Personally I expect to rely on the opinion of the GrapheneOS team in this matter (as suggested by wizoatk), but others may decide differently.

Blastoidea

de0u I agree.