ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Murena Tablet is on the market beginning at $549 for the 128GB model.
- This de-Googled Pixel Tablet runs on /e/OS, a customized model of Android 13 that removes all default Google companies, trackers, and bloatware
- Getting a de-Googled Murena Tablet comes at a premium with no speaker dock, for $549, whereas the Google Pixel Tablet alone begins at $399 (at present $299) at $479 with a dock.
Many pill customers, myself included, wrestle to really embrace an Android gadget. It is onerous to flee the bloatware and Google-ification that comes with Android tablets and merely use the gadget for its capabilities. All I need is a pill for leisure, mild 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
That is a massive purpose why I largely want Apple gadgets, together with iPads, over Android. However the Murena Pixel Tablet 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 few weeks
The Murena Tablet runs on /e/OS, a customized Android model developed by Murena, a firm targeted on privacy-first gadgets. It’s a de-Googled Pixel Tablet, 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 would not come preloaded with the Google apps you get with different out-of-the-box Android tablets. It has a few apps from Murena, like an app retailer, browser, e mail, and so on. However as an alternative of the 60+ apps that come preloaded in your Google Pixel Tablet (and different Android tablets, for that matter), the Murena Tablet solely comes with 23.
Utilizing the Murena Tablet on a day-to-day foundation is a refreshing expertise. When you get used to completely different ranges of Android tablets and iPads, switching to the Murena pill is liberating: there aren’t any compelled ecosystems or distractions. You actually select your apps and companies, right down to deciding whether or not you employ an account together with your pill or not.
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To get probably the most private expertise, I selected to not use a registered account with my Murena Tablet. I’m nonetheless capable of obtain apps and use them as I would and log into my most popular 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 how a lot data I share with apps like these.
Murena simply introduced the /e/OS 3.0 replace, which incorporates a new Qwant-powered search engine, known as Murena Discover. The replace additionally provides stronger parental controls, speech-to-text messaging, the flexibility to search out a gadget by way of SMS, a CryptPad-powered Murena Vault for cloud storage, and detailed privateness reviews on app monitoring.
Murena Pixel Tablet (left) and the Google Pixel Tablet (proper).
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Geekbench 6 scores | Beginning worth | Single-Core CPU Benchmark | Multi-Core CPU Benchmark | GPU benchmark |
Murena Tablet | $549 | 1,477 | 3,867 | 4,158 |
Google Pixel Tablet | $399 | 1,451 | 3,787 | 4,961 |
Lenovo Concept Tab Professional (2025) | $290 | 1,408 | 4,525 | 7,977 |
iPad 10 | $299 | 2,083 | 4,902 | 16,973 |
The Murena Tablet and the Google Pixel Tablet 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 Tablet’s decrease GPU scores, that are possible as a result of lack of Google graphics libraries and driver tuning.
Additionally: I didn’t anticipate this $300 Android pill to be as spectacular as it’s
When you think about a privacy-focused pill, you might instantly consider an iPad. These are usually more private than your common Android tablets, because of Apple’s efforts to guard person information, however you are still locked into Apple’s ecosystem while you use an iPad. Whereas Apple might not promote your information in the event you decide out of monitoring, it nonetheless is aware of your habits.
The Murena Tablet provides customers more independence from massive tech: there isn’t 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 desires more management over your privateness and digital life, the Murena Tablet is at present the most effective 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 Tablet requires no work, solely than you to set it up such as you would any different pill.
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Apart from having a more private expertise, the Murena Tablet is barely quicker in on a regular basis use. It has no bloatware, so you possibly can breeze by most duties and apps and not fear about your apps randomly crashing or glitching because of processing efficiency.