News Murena released a de-Googled version of the Pixel Tablet

[News]

The Murena Pixel Tablet is the company’s first privacy-focused tablet device. | Image: Murena

After launching several privacy-focused smartphones, Murena has released its first tablet. The French company customizes mobile devices with a version of Android called /e/OS that removes Google’s apps and services so the search giant can’t collect your data and personal info. The company is sticking with that familiar playbook for the Murena Pixel Tablet which is a customized version of Google’s Pixel Tablet that was released in 2023. You don’t get to choose a color or more than 128GB of storage, but you do get the peace of mind that a giant corporation isn’t keeping tabs on everything you do with it.

First announced last December, the Murena Pixel Tablet is available now through the company’s online store for $549. That’s a steep premium given Google currently sells the same 128GB version of the Pixel Tablet for $399, or $479 as part of a bundle with the charging speaker dock that Murena isn’t including.

Part of Murena’s de-Googling of the Pixel Tablet includes the removal of the Google Play Store. You can still download apps through /e/OS’ App Lounge which acts as a front-end for the Play Store allowing you to browse and get free apps anonymously without Google knowing who you are. However, downloading paid apps requires a login to a Google account.

Google’s various productivity apps aren’t included, but the Murena Pixel Tablet comes with privacy-minded alternatives for messaging, email, maps, browsing the web, calendar, contacts, notes, and even voice recordings.

Murena Workspace, the company’s version of services like Google Docs or Microsoft Office 365, includes productivity apps and 1GB of secure online storage for free. You can bump that to 20GB of cloud storage for $2.49 per month, or $24.90 per year, or up to 128GB for $7.49 per month, or $74.90 per year.