GrapheneOS is about to cross the boundaries of the Pixel world. The announcement came directly from the social channels of the NitroKey team, which confirmed that it has contacted a manufacturer to create dedicated hardware for a proprietary smartphone that offers the same level of security and support that NitroPhone 1 enjoys.
For those who do not remember, the NitroPhone 1 is nothing more than a Pixel 4a on which GrapheneOS has been installed, an Android-based operating system that focuses on security.
NitroPhone 1, in fact, has several features that guarantee a high safety standard for the category and it does so by exploiting the hardware included by Google on Pixel 4a, such as the Titan M chip. It will therefore be interesting to understand how NitroKey will offer something similar with a new product; Is it possible that it is working to adopt a similar hardware solution or will it focus on those already present in the Qualcomm or MediaTek chips?
We’re going to be collaborating with a hardware vendor to get a device produced with comparable security and support for alternative operating systems as Pixels.
We can’t publish details right now but we’re optimistic about it and hope to have real news about it in a few months.
— GrapheneOS (@GrapheneOS) February 7, 2022
We do not yet know what path NitroKey will take – which maintains the utmost confidentiality on its hardware partner -however, the company has confirmed that the smartphone will actually be equipped with particular safety precautions, without going into too much detail. We will therefore have to wait for further confirmation, but in any case, it is clear that something has begun to move.