GrapheneOS says it cannot provide full support for Google’s Pixel 11 after finding that the phone’s Tensor G6 platform does not support Memory Tagging Extension (MTE), a hardware security feature the privacy-focused Android project relies on. For now, it is directing prospective users toward the Pixel 8, Pixel 9 or Pixel 10 instead.
MTE is an ARM hardware technology designed to catch certain unsafe memory accesses. It assigns tags to memory regions and checks them when software attempts to access those regions; a mismatch can stop a process before a memory-corruption flaw is exploited. Such protections matter particularly for sophisticated attacks, including potential zero-click exploits, rather than the more common threats of phishing, stolen credentials and malicious apps.
The project reportedly spent about a week attempting to port its operating system to the Pixel 11 before concluding that the required hardware capability was absent. Analysis of the software is said to show MTE-related functions and commands in the Pixel 10 bootloader but not in Pixel 11 software, suggesting the feature may have been removed rather than simply disabled.
Leaked internal Google gChips documents reportedly indicate that MTE had been planned for Tensor G6, codenamed Malibu. One older plan lists the technology among the chip’s features, while a separate cache-architecture document is said to show “MTE support” as a high-priority item that was later crossed out. The timing and reason for the apparent change remain unclear; MTE implementation can add memory overhead and require dedicated checking hardware.
The omission does not by itself make the Pixel 11 an unsafe phone. However, it removes a layer of protection valued by GrapheneOS, which is built to reduce exposure to high-end exploitation and has historically focused on Pixels because of their unlockable bootloaders and security hardware. Google had previously been a prominent Android supporter of MTE and introduced hardware support in the Pixel line with the Pixel 8 generation.
GrapheneOS is also working with Motorola on its first official deployment beyond a Google-made device. An unconfirmed candidate is a Motorola flagship internally known as Wukong, reportedly based on a future Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Qualcomm has begun adding MTE support to recent chipsets, but neither a Motorola model nor a release timeline has been confirmed.
