Motorola is the granddaddy of the mobile phone world. In 1983 it unveiled the world\u2019s first commercial handset: a brick-like wodge of a thing that took 10 hours to charge enough for 30 minutes of call-time.<\/p>\n
Four decades and several changes of ownership later, Motorola\u2019s mobile division \u2013 now owned by Lenovo \u2013 made an intriguing announcement last week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
For those worried about online privacy and data sovereignty, Motorola unveiled just the thing for them: a new handset running the privacy-focused software GrapheneOS<\/a>.<\/p>\n The operating system is a so-called fork of the Android operating system that runs 72 per cent of mobile phones worldwide.<\/p>\n Behind GrapheneOS is a Canadian non-profit foundation founded a decade ago to strip back Android, owned by Google, to its origins as a sleek, privacy-respecting open-source operating system.<\/p>\n A GrapheneOS spokesman said Motorola has committed to manufacturing a new, high-end \u201cflagship\u201d smartphone that meets the stiff security specifications the nonfoundation seeks in hardware.<\/p>\n The deal is a \u201csignificant milestone\u201d for expanding the reach of GrapheneOS, the spokesman said, adding it was \u201cnot fully decided yet\u201d whether the alternative operating system will be pre-installed on devices or available afterwards as a download.<\/p>\n After conversations with several OEM smartphone-makers, GraphenOS were convinced by the scale and resources Motorola, as part of Lenovo, can pull goether through in-house development teams and third-party suppliers.<\/p>\n \u201cThey approached us, we didn\u2019t approach them,\u201d said the GrapheneOS spokesman. \u201cIt makes sense for Motorla to deliver as it\u2019s great marketing for them: `Did you hear GrapheneOS, this super-duper operating system is coming to Motorola phones?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In line with its privacy philosophy, GrapheneOS says it has no precise information about users but has recorded some 400,000 downloads of its software.<\/p>\n The foundation has a core group of around two dozen working around the world, with around 10 developers and the others with other tasks from administration to community management.<\/p>\n `Personal security\u2019<\/p>\n Though active online, GrapheneOS team members have learned to be cautious with their public profiles after their lead developer stood aside in 2023 amid repeated harassment. Which is why the community manager willing to talk to me calls himself Dave Wilson. The pseudonym, says \u201cDave\u201d, is \u201cfor personal security\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people,\u201d he says, \u201cdon\u2019t want us to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n The GrapheneOS\/Motorola announcement comes at an interesting time, as shock spreads in Europe over how Trump administration sanctions saw staff at the International Criminal Court cut off<\/a> from their web-based Microsoft web services.<\/p>\n But as European institutions pivot to European-based software and servers for computers, finding a usable smartphone alternative to the US tech giants Google and Apple is less straightforward.<\/p>\n