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I’m not sure about FairPhone but large companies such as Samsung don’t want to upset Alphabet / Google. Btw, afaik GrapheneOS is coming out with their own hard

I’m not sure about FairPhone but large companies such as Samsung don’t want to upset Alphabet / Google. Btw, afaik GrapheneOS is coming out with their own hardware. Evidently in 2026 or 2027.

palata 1y ago
> large companies such as Samsung don’t want to upset Alphabet / Google. Hmm, we're talking about a few hundred thousands phones, I don't think it would upset Google. I'm just wondering because if all they need to do is provide a way to lock/unlock the bootloader, then they can potentially sell hundred thousands of units with a minor change. > GrapheneOS is coming out with their own hardware. Do you have a source for that? I've seen mentions of them trying to do it, but mostly I have seen that they "are talking to major manufacturers". It's not clear to me if they are trying to come up with their own device or if they are trying to convince a major manufacturer that they should "support" GrapheneOS (simply by meeting their requirements). I personally hope it's the latter: it seems very difficult to release their own hardware that would come close to a Pixel 10 with 7 years support.
- chiefalchemist 1y ago
  I saw it mentioned on another HN thread a couple of weeks ago with a link. It was legit. Updated w link https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411
  - palata 1y ago
    Right. I'm a little skeptical because I believe I've seen before that it was expected "end of 2025 or at least 2026", and now this says 2026/2027. They mention: > hoping to have a device of theirs meet our requirements Which suggests it's not a device made specifically for GrapheneOS, to me it sounds more like it would be something like the Pixel. I wonder why it would take more than a year to get there, other than lack of interest by the manufacturer (which goes back to my original question). I mean, there must be flagship smartphones out there that meet all the requirements except for the locking/unlocking of the bootloader, and that shouldn't be hard to solve, right?
    - chiefalchemist 1y ago
      I hear you. But I hope you’re wrong. I mean that kindly.
      - palata 1y ago
        Same here, I really wish Android manufacturers allowed us to properly use an alternative OS without breaking the secure boot (i.e. by allowing to relock the bootloader).
beardyw 1y ago
Large companies don't want to confuse their customers for no real gain.
- palata 1y ago
  Is that confusing, though? You can already install alternative OSes (including Linux, like PostmarketOS) on many Android devices. Not saying that they should heavily promote GrapheneOS. Just saying that by merely meeting the requirements of GrapheneOS, a community of hundreds of thousands of people may start buying their phone instead of Pixels. No extra support needed except for guaranteeing that they won't prevent users from unlocking/relocking the bootloader, right? Normies don't even have to hear about it.
  - beardyw 1y ago
    Good point.
jqpabc123 1y ago
GrapheneOS is coming out with their own hardware. Good luck with that. Economies of scale (or the lack thereof) means their hardware will be significantly more expensive and less capable than the large scale manufacturers. I can hear it now, "Those specs kinda suck for that amount of money".
- chiefalchemist 1y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411 You might be right, but GrapheneOS with a removable / self-replaceable battery would be worth +$200 ish to me.

I’m not sure about FairPhone but large companies such as Samsung don’t want to upset Alphabet / Google. Btw, afaik GrapheneOS is coming out with their own hardware. Evidently in 2026 or 2027.

palata 1y ago

> large companies such as Samsung don’t want to upset Alphabet / Google. Hmm, we're talking about a few hundred thousands phones, I don't think it would upset Google. I'm just wondering because if all they need to do is provide a way to lock/unlock the bootloader, then they can potentially sell hundred thousands of units with a minor change. > GrapheneOS is coming out with their own hardware. Do you have a source for that? I've seen mentions of them trying to do it, but mostly I have seen that they "are talking to major manufacturers". It's not clear to me if they are trying to come up with their own device or if they are trying to convince a major manufacturer that they should "support" GrapheneOS (simply by meeting their requirements). I personally hope it's the latter: it seems very difficult to release their own hardware that would come close to a Pixel 10 with 7 years support.

chiefalchemist 1y ago
I saw it mentioned on another HN thread a couple of weeks ago with a link. It was legit. Updated w link https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411
- palata 1y ago
  Right. I'm a little skeptical because I believe I've seen before that it was expected "end of 2025 or at least 2026", and now this says 2026/2027. They mention: > hoping to have a device of theirs meet our requirements Which suggests it's not a device made specifically for GrapheneOS, to me it sounds more like it would be something like the Pixel. I wonder why it would take more than a year to get there, other than lack of interest by the manufacturer (which goes back to my original question). I mean, there must be flagship smartphones out there that meet all the requirements except for the locking/unlocking of the bootloader, and that shouldn't be hard to solve, right?
  - chiefalchemist 1y ago
    I hear you. But I hope you’re wrong. I mean that kindly.
    - palata 1y ago
      Same here, I really wish Android manufacturers allowed us to properly use an alternative OS without breaking the secure boot (i.e. by allowing to relock the bootloader).

beardyw 1y ago

Large companies don't want to confuse their customers for no real gain.

palata 1y ago
Is that confusing, though? You can already install alternative OSes (including Linux, like PostmarketOS) on many Android devices. Not saying that they should heavily promote GrapheneOS. Just saying that by merely meeting the requirements of GrapheneOS, a community of hundreds of thousands of people may start buying their phone instead of Pixels. No extra support needed except for guaranteeing that they won't prevent users from unlocking/relocking the bootloader, right? Normies don't even have to hear about it.
- beardyw 1y ago
  Good point.

jqpabc123 1y ago

GrapheneOS is coming out with their own hardware. Good luck with that. Economies of scale (or the lack thereof) means their hardware will be significantly more expensive and less capable than the large scale manufacturers. I can hear it now, "Those specs kinda suck for that amount of money".

chiefalchemist 1y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411 You might be right, but GrapheneOS with a removable / self-replaceable battery would be worth +$200 ish to me.