Hey, howdy, hallo,
I’m assuming most people subscribed to this newsletter found it through my GrapheneOS videos, so I wanted to share an update on some recent news about the project.
First off, take a breath, hold it for a few seconds, and exhale. It’s going to be OK.
Android 16 was recently released. Normally, when that happens, AOSP (Android Open Source Project) publishes the core Android source code, and Google also publishes full Pixel device support code.
This time, while AOSP published the Android 16 source code, Google excluded the Pixel device support code that had been included in previous AOSP releases.
Getting GrapheneOS up and running on Android 16 is now significantly more work than in past years.
The GrapheneOS team now has to reconstruct and maintain all Pixel device support code themselves. Previously, they could reuse Google’s publicly available Pixel code and only needed to make minor adjustments. This change has made supporting Android 16 (and future releases) significantly more difficult and time-consuming.
I want to emphasize that I’m just summarizing the incredibly detailed updates the GrapheneOS team has already published, and continues to share. The best thing you can do is always follow the source. (This is a good rule for everything in life.)
Follow GrapheneOS directly here:
There’s been a lot of uninformed speculation and worry from various people and groups about the future of the project I just want to say: I’m not worried.
Yes, this is a setback. But there’s a possible silver lining: it might accelerate the project’s long-term goal of having a custom device built to their specs. Based on what they’ve shared, that’s still a ways off, but these changes may have sped up that timeline.
And importantly: existing supported devices will continue to be supported through their EOL dates. For example, the Pixel 9a will be supported through 2032.
So if you’re thinking about trying out GrapheneOS, now’s as good a time as any. And if you’re already using it, you’re all good.
Follow the official channels. Speculation from anyone else is just noise.
I hope you had a great June, and I’ll see you in July!
-Josh
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