ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Murena Pill is on the market beginning at $549 for the 128GB model.
- This de-Googled Pixel Pill runs on /e/OS, a customized model of Android 13 that removes all default Google companies, trackers, and bloatware
- Getting a de-Googled Murena Pill comes at a premium with no speaker dock, for $549, whereas the Google Pixel Pill alone begins at $399 (at the moment $299) at $479 with a dock.
Many pill customers, myself included, wrestle to actually embrace an Android machine. It is arduous to flee the bloatware and Google-ification that comes with Android tablets and easily use the machine for its capabilities. All I would like is a pill for leisure, gentle work, and video games that is not slowed down by extras or monitoring my use.
Additionally: Lastly, an Android pill that I would not thoughts placing my iPad Professional away for
This can be a large cause why I principally desire Apple units, together with iPads, over Android. However the Murena Pixel Pill is a ready-made, de-Googled Android pill you should purchase that does not require tinkering or work in your finish. And after testing it for a number of weeks
The Murena Pill runs on /e/OS, a customized Android model developed by Murena, an organization targeted on privacy-first units. It’s a de-Googled Pixel Pill, so it’s bodily the identical {hardware} as Google’s pill, however skips the bloatware and monitoring that comes with Android.
A de-Googled pill does not come preloaded with the Google apps you get with different out-of-the-box Android tablets. It has a number of apps from Murena, like an app retailer, browser, e mail, and many others. However as an alternative of the 60+ apps that come preloaded in your Google Pixel Pill (and different Android tablets, for that matter), the Murena Pill solely comes with 23.
Utilizing the Murena Pill on a day-to-day foundation is a refreshing expertise. When you get used to totally different ranges of Android tablets and iPads, switching to the Murena pill is releasing: there are not any pressured ecosystems or distractions. You really select your apps and companies, all the way down to deciding whether or not you employ an account along with your pill or not.
Additionally: I examined Samsung’s largest pill, and it gave me zero iPad Professional envy
To get essentially the most personal expertise, I selected to not use a registered account with my Murena Pill. I am nonetheless capable of obtain apps and use them as I might and log into my most well-liked apps, like Gmail and YouTube, if I select to take action. However I get to decide on to have these apps on my pill and the way a lot info I share with apps like these.
Murena simply introduced the /e/OS 3.0 replace, which features a new Qwant-powered search engine, referred to as Murena Discover. The replace additionally presents stronger parental controls, speech-to-text messaging, the flexibility to discover a machine through SMS, a CryptPad-powered Murena Vault for cloud storage, and detailed privateness studies on app monitoring.
Murena Pixel Pill (left) and the Google Pixel Pill (proper).
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
| Geekbench 6 scores | Beginning worth | Single-Core CPU Benchmark | Multi-Core CPU Benchmark | GPU benchmark |
| Murena Pill | $549 | 1,477 | 3,867 | 4,158 |
| Google Pixel Pill | $399 | 1,451 | 3,787 | 4,961 |
| Lenovo Thought Tab Professional (2025) | $290 | 1,408 | 4,525 | 7,977 |
| iPad 10 | $299 | 2,083 | 4,902 | 16,973 |
The Murena Pill and the Google Pixel Pill are each the identical pill, it is the identical {hardware}, so benchmark scores are unsurprisingly fairly related. The one slight distinction is within the Murena Pill’s decrease GPU scores, that are doubtless as a result of lack of Google graphics libraries and driver tuning.
Additionally: I didn’t count on this $300 Android pill to be as spectacular as it’s
When you think about a privacy-focused pill, you could instantly consider an iPad. These are usually extra personal than your common Android tablets, due to Apple’s efforts to guard person knowledge, however you are still locked into Apple’s ecosystem once you use an iPad. Whereas Apple could not promote your knowledge for those who choose out of monitoring, it nonetheless is aware of your habits.
The Murena Pill offers customers extra independence from large tech: there is not any Apple or Google concerned, and no account is required to make use of it.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
When you’re an Android fan who needs extra management over your privateness and digital life, the Murena Pill is at the moment the perfect privacy-focused Android pill. It is a ready-made, de-Googled pill that you just needn’t tinker with or flash an OS on. The Murena Pill requires no work, solely than you to set it up such as you would another pill.
Additionally: I changed my Kindle with an iPad Mini as my book reader – 8 the reason why I do not remorse it
Except for having a extra personal expertise, the Murena Pill is barely sooner in on a regular basis use. It has no bloatware, so you’ll be able to breeze by most duties and apps and never fear about your apps randomly crashing or glitching attributable to processing efficiency.
