r/Android • u/ControlCAD Google Pixel 10 Pro XL • Mar 01 '26

Video Google Is Closing Android. 37 Orgs Are Fighting Back. - Techlore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MZfGq5F1NU
2.3k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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673

u/EspadaV8 Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 02 '26

Really hope the rumours of Motorola and GrapheneOS are true, and they're releasing soon. Love the android ecosystem, but only if it remains (some what) open. ThinkPhone to go with my ThinkPads would be great.

Just been officially announced: https://motorolanews.com/motorola-three-new-b2b-solutions-at-mwc-2026/

106

u/Gugalcrom123 Mar 01 '26

Really hope their new device will allow unlocking the bootloader. GrapheneOS may be secure and private, but I don't want to be locked into it regardless.

29

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

I like GrapheneOS but it's maintainer is not exactly stable so it could flip at any time. Who know he could get an AI teenager girlfriend like the BCacheFS guy. Or it could be like CynaogenMOD when they started being but on phones it killed the project.

18

u/GlenMerlin Mar 01 '26

iirc the lead maintainer stepped down after all the controversy of him being unstable towards people like Louis Rossman and the maintaining of Graphene is done by a committee of contributors now

8

u/FieryDuckling67 Mar 01 '26

Stepped down how, it's obviously still his exact same writing style across every social post and comment.

6

u/[deleted] Mar 02 '26 edited 29d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/FieryDuckling67 Mar 02 '26

If he's handling all the social media then that's directly in the public eye. His abrasive communication style with constant accusations at different groups and individuals which got him into trouble in the first place will therefore continue.

1

u/Gugalcrom123 Mar 02 '26

Still, nothing stops them from doing bad things, or you might simply buy the phone and discover that GrapheneOS just isn't tor you.

2

u/allcrud Mar 06 '26

Nothing stops Google from doing bad things. You could buy any phone me and discover that Android or iOS is not for you. Never leave your house or buy anything.

2

u/JohnJamesGutib Mar 02 '26

My favorite Linux kernel lore is ReiserFS not being developed anymore because the developer went to jail for murdering his wife

1

u/Meta_Mhd Mar 03 '26

Or it could be like CynaogenMOD when they started being but on phones it killed the project.

What?

1

u/Ventem Pixel 6 Mar 06 '26

Wow, CyanogenMod. That's a name I haven't heard in so long.

92

u/Lumbardo Mar 01 '26

What is Motorola doing?

79

u/EternalFront iPhone 16 Pro Mar 01 '26

Supposed to be releasing phone(s?) with GrapheneOS

52

u/benargee LGG5, 7.0 Mar 01 '26

I hope more "pro-consumer" brands get onboard too.

13

u/Lumbardo Mar 01 '26

That's pretty awesome. I'm still running a moto edge + 2022. Looks like my next phone may be moto as well.

5

u/burgertanker Mar 01 '26

I wanted a Motorola after using them for the past 10 years (g3, g5 and g9 plus) but apparently they had issues with the digital audio amplifier having audio issues and not being able to be increased and Motorola refused to fix it so I had to swap over to Samsung. Just a warning if you like listening to music on your phone

3

u/TrailOfEnvy Mar 02 '26

Are all modern Motorola have this issues? That sucks if all of them have it. 

2

u/burgertanker Mar 02 '26

Not sure, but I wanted to get a g84 but they had that issue and other options were out of price range, though eventually I just said screw it and got an A56. No 3.5mm jack and expandable storage kinda sucked but I just got an adaptor for the first and the second doesn't matter a huge amount to me

2

u/Individual-Prior-496 Mar 31 '26

Literalmente busco un teléfono con Jack 3.5mm, Expansión Micro SD y Bypass Chargin. Resulta que todas las marcas solo pueden ofrecer uno de cada uno, pensé en Motorola pero no puedo vivir sin el Audio. Espero que arreglen ese problema.

1

u/Ok-Initiative-6154 Mar 31 '26

Agreed. I have been eyeballing the Signature. But now gonna wait for the new OS. Very interesting 🤔

11

u/Monsterpiece42 Mar 01 '26

I would buy tomorrow if they did.

3

u/EternalFront iPhone 16 Pro Mar 02 '26

Get your wallet ready

3

u/ritesh808 Mar 02 '26

Great for privacy and extra security, but it'll be a massive step down in terms of features, usability etc. I just wish more OEMs took something like Graphene OS, added their own UI and features on top of it (without compromising privacy or security) and made every Google goodness available but optional. But, that's beyond wishful thinking in this day and age. No one wants to make a product without data harvesting and tracking. Don't say Apple, because that's a massive myth propped up by very strong PR.

2

u/EternalFront iPhone 16 Pro Mar 02 '26

Fully agreed, hopefully this Motorola partnership helps with that

1

u/ImpossibleCarob8480 Mar 03 '26

Any OEM who allows bootloader unlocking without significant feature loss meets those requirements to me, even if stock is lacking

1

u/Extreme-Carrot4243 Mar 04 '26

I wonder if like the Clicks guys did, we could come together and make a phone for ourselves.

1

u/Shished Pixel 8 | LOS 23.0 Mar 02 '26

Probably nothing, GOS devs are going to release it for some of their models.

51

u/computermaster704 Purple Mar 01 '26

I'm curious but Motorola has notoriously had very garbage software practices on every level

40

u/MigasEnsopado Mar 01 '26

In this case the software is Graphene. Motorola is the hardware partner.

-10

u/computermaster704 Purple Mar 01 '26

Lol currently they use android as software and most moto hardware is still severely out of date lmao

14

u/benargee LGG5, 7.0 Mar 01 '26

Yeah, and Android(AOSP) is open source. That means it can be forked if Google makes subsequent versions closed source. Doing so motivates maintainers to work on the fork because they have no other option. It won't be as great, but it's not end of the road. Oracle has done the same, and great forked products come out of it.

-1

u/computermaster704 Purple Mar 01 '26

That's helping my point they have every opportunity to update and be up to date but instead they simply do not

5

u/benargee LGG5, 7.0 Mar 01 '26

Yeah maybe. If they partner with GrapheneOS, they don't need to focus on OS, they just need to work closely to ensure the chosen hardware is compatible. Hopefully they only ask for a custom splash screen and don't ask for too many vendor specific features.

6

u/computermaster704 Purple Mar 01 '26

If grapheneos handles the entire process themselves there is hope but vendor specific features can get very broad including npu access and other important chipsets and that's assuming your moto you get isn't boot locked (Verizon has specifically janked that even on pixels)

3

u/one-joule Mar 01 '26

And the Moto hardware that isn’t out of date is hobbled by crap software.

2

u/computermaster704 Purple Mar 01 '26

It's typically 1-3 Gen behind flagship and that's praying they use flagship processor

14

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

[deleted]

7

u/Gugalcrom123 Mar 01 '26

And there is a Droidian GNU/Linux port for it!

3

u/YAOMTC Mar 02 '26 edited Mar 02 '26

Neat! Doesn't seem to be available for consumers though? At least not currently, new.

2

u/SirDarknessTheFirst P8a/gOS Mar 02 '26

Used to be, isn't anymore. Even my local JB stocked it

2

u/ImpossibleCarob8480 Mar 03 '26

The consumer equivalent of this would be the Edge 30 Ultra, which is very similar in most specs

5

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

[deleted]

3

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

It well be exactly like it is now.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

2027 is what I have heard so it is not soon.

1

u/LuciferNS03 Pixel 7 Pro - rooted Mar 02 '26

Wait, how do you know it moto? I thought GrapheneOS has not revealed the brand yet.

2

u/EspadaV8 Mar 02 '26

There hasn't been anything official, but there have been rumours for a while, and then a few days ago there was a photo of a Motorola slide that leaked and it listed GrapheneOS as part of their strategy going forward.

1

u/dathellcat Mar 02 '26

The moment the Android data folder got restricted was the moment android was closed, it's just getting worse.

1

u/vky_007 Mar 02 '26

Bought iPhones starting at iPhone 3G. Have never looked back.

1

u/EspadaV8 Mar 02 '26

So you're suggesting that because I dislike Android becoming more closed, I should move to the completely closed iPhone?

1

u/junktrunk909 Mar 02 '26

I worked at Motorola during the days when we had like 7 different OS and platform baselines going on simultaneously. It's a big reason why Motorola failed to keep up and got passed by Apple since every feature had to be built 7 times. It was a huge mess so I really don't see how this makes sense to start forking platforms again.

1

u/Ok-Initiative-6154 Mar 31 '26

I wonder how well it will handle emulators. 🤔

-1

u/M_Binks Mar 01 '26

Isn't Motorola just a disembodied brand name now? Or is there a company there?