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Google Pixel 11 Series Will Not Get GrapheneOS as Google Skips a Major Security Feature

Google Pixel 11 Series Will Not Get GrapheneOS as Google Skips a Major Security Feature

GrapheneOS makers claim that the Google Pixel 11 series does not support ARM Hardware Memory Tagging Extensions (MTE).

Written by Dhruv Raghav, Edited by Rohan Pal | Updated: 31 August 2026 12:27 IST

Google Pixel 11 Series Will Not Get GrapheneOS as Google Skips a Major Security Feature

Google Pixel 11 was launched in India at a higher price than Pixel 10

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Highlights

Google Pixel 11 series is powered by the Tensor G6 SoC
Google Pixel 11 series was recently launched globally
Google Pixel 8 series supports the MTE security feature

The Google Pixel 11 series was launched in mid-August as the next-generation smartphone lineup from the Mountain View-based tech giant. The series comprises four models, and all the Pixel 11 series phones are powered by the company's latest Tensor G6 chipset. The Google Pixel 11 series phones launched at notably higher prices than their predecessors, which could be because of the ongoing memory and storage crisis. Now, the makers of GrapheneOS say that their operating system (OS) will not come to the Google Pixel 11 series as Google skipped a major security feature for its handsets, seemingly to save costs.

Google Pixel 11 Series Reportedly Does Not Support MTE Security Feature

In a post on Mastodon, the GrapheneOS Foundation said that it has managed to build only a partial port of GrapheneOS for the Google Pixel 11 series after a week's work. However, it was unable to complete the port for its OS, as the Google Pixel 11 series, including the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold, does not support the ARM Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) security feature, the software maker said.

Google Pixel 11 Series Discussion

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Further, the company said that Google is not offering MTE support in software, firmware, and “near certainly hardware” of the Pixel 11 series “to save money”. All Pixel phones, starting with the Pixel 8 lineup, have shipped with support for the security feature. GrapheneOS uses ARM Hardware MTE across its base OS, kernel, and other standard software processes.

GrapheneOS Explained: All You Need to Know

Further, the GrapheneOS Foundation highlighted that the ARM Hardware MTE functionality is only “temporarily disabled for a few device-specific processes”. The feature is said to “greatly” enhance protection against most remote exploits and other local exploits. Moreover, the company said that the Google Pixel 8 to Pixel 10 series phones have shipped with the security feature. However, Google seemingly removed it from its latest handsets.

The company said that it integrated it into its “hardened_malloc project” and started using it across GrapheneOS in October 2023. However, the Pixel smartphones did not start using the security feature by default. Meanwhile, Android Advanced Protection Mode on Android 16 did enable ARM MTE for specific processes, the GrapheneOS Foundation highlighted.

Google Pixel 11

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Compact and comfortable design
Good camera performance
Clean and polished Android 17 experience
Seven years of software and security updates

Bad
No variable refresh rate on the display
Gaming performance falls behind rivals
Still requires charge at the end of the day

Read detailed Google Pixel 11 review

Display 6.30-inch

Processor Google Tensor G6

Front Camera 10.5-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 13-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB

Battery Capacity 4985mAh

OS Android 17

Resolution 1080x2424 pixels

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Google Pixel 11 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.30-inch

Processor Google Tensor G6

Front Camera 42-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB

Battery Capacity 4850mAh

OS Android 17

Resolution 1280x2856 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

Google Pixel 11 Pro XL

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.80-inch

Processor Google Tensor G6

Front Camera 42-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 12GB, 16GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB

Battery Capacity 5115mAh

OS Android 17

Resolution 1344x2992 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Google Pixel 11 Series, Google, ARM Hardware Memory Tagging Extensions, GrapheneOS

Dhruv Raghav

Email Dhruv Raghav

Dhruv Raghav is currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets360. He has previously covered the North American financial markets as a Headline News Correspondent for a major news agency. After taking a sabbatical to prepare for the Civil Services examination, he returned to journalism to cover tech policy, with a special focus on AI laws and online gaming regulation. Now, he is back in Gadgets360 to write features and edit stories. To unwind, he likes to spend time with his PS5, listening ...More