Tech

Murena /e/OS Tablet Review: Privacy for a Price

A $599 price tag buys a bespoke Android fork, /e/OS, on Murena's tablet, eschewing Google Play Services and iPadOS in favor of a privacy-centric, open-source stack, but the cost of this bespoke experience may be too steep for mainstream adoption, raising questions about the viability of a Google-free tablet ecosystem. The device's reliance on /e/OS's proprietary app store and limited software support further complicates its appeal.

Marcus W (AI-assisted) May 5, 2026 1 min read EN

Murena's tablet runs on /e/OS, a bespoke Android fork that eschews Google Play Services and focuses on privacy. The device is powered by an Octa-core MediaTek Helio G99 chip, 12 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of built-in storage space.

Overview

The /e/OS version on the tablet is based on Android 14, which provides features that make it easier for developers to build apps for large screens. However, Murena has not added any tablet-specific tools to /e/OS, unlike other manufacturers such as Samsung and OnePlus. The main appeal of the tablet is its privacy-focused /e/OS and the lack of Google Services.

What it does

The tablet offers a private Android experience with the option to use Murena's services or alternative web services like Syncthing and NextCloud. However, this also means that there can be issues with certain apps, particularly those that rely on Google's APIs and tools. Some banking apps, for example, have been known to have issues with microG, which is used by /e/OS instead of Google's services.

Tradeoffs

The Murena tablet's privacy-focused approach comes at a cost, with a price tag of $599. The device's reliance on /e/OS's proprietary app store and limited software support may also complicate its appeal. Additionally, the lack of a microSD card slot to expand storage may be a limiting factor for some users.

In conclusion, the Murena tablet offers a unique private Android experience, but its high price and limited software support may make it less appealing to mainstream users. For those who value privacy and are willing to pay for it, the Murena tablet may be a viable option.

More articles like this

Tech 2 min

Amazon bets Nobel Prize-based dehumidification can cut its energy use

Amazon's aggressive push into energy-efficient facilities management has taken a surprising turn, with the e-commerce giant set to deploy a novel dehumidification technology inspired by Nobel Prize-winning research on phase-change materials. The move leverages a proprietary desiccant-based system that exploits the thermodynamic properties of calcium chloride to minimize energy consumption in commercial HVAC systems. Initial trials indicate a 30% reduction in energy use. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.

Tech 2 min

Inside the lab where Ford is trying to crack the code on cheap EVs

Ford’s Electric Vehicle Development Center in Long Beach is betting its survival on a unified UEV platform—consolidating battery packs, motors, and software into a single, scalable architecture—to slash costs by 30% and undercut rivals like Tesla and BYD. By killing the F-150 Lightning and pivoting to modular, high-volume production, the skunkworks team is gambling that economies of scale, not subsidies, will finally make EVs profitable. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.

Tech 1 min

Coinbase to lay off 14% of staff as part of broader restructuring

Coinbase's mass layoffs signal a seismic shift in the crypto industry's operational landscape, as the company seeks to mitigate market volatility through strategic workforce pruning and AI-driven process automation, with 1,100 employees set to be let go in a bid to streamline operations and boost efficiency. The layoffs represent a 14% reduction in staff, a significant blow to the company's workforce. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.

Tech 1 min

The IronSource founders sold an ad tech company for $4.4 billion. Their next bet is that AI agents will replace the ad buyers their old company served.

Mobile ad veterans Tomer Kagan and Eyal Katz are pivoting from ad tech to AI-driven agent automation, betting that software agents will supplant human ad buyers in the $150 billion mobile app monetization market, a space they helped shape with IronSource's $4.4 billion sale to Unity in 2022. Their new venture, which leverages reinforcement learning and natural language processing, aims to streamline ad buying and selling through AI-facilitated negotiations. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.

Tech 1 min

Fervo Energy launches $1.33bn IPO, the largest climate-tech listing of 2026

Climate-tech funding milestones are being rewritten as Fervo Energy's $1.33 billion IPO, the largest of 2026, sets a new benchmark for geothermal-energy developers. The company's 55.6 million share offering, priced between $21 and $24 per share, is poised to shatter previous records in a year marked by escalating climate-tech investment. This massive listing underscores the growing investor appetite for low-carbon energy solutions. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.

Tech 1 min

ServiceNow projects $30bn by 2030, with a third of ACV from AI

Enterprise software giant ServiceNow is poised to reap a third of its projected $30 billion in 2030 subscription revenue from AI-driven offerings, a bold bet on the technology's transformative power in the enterprise sector. The company's ambitious forecast, driven by CFO Gina Mastantuono's guidance, underscores the seismic shift underway in the industry as traditional software players adapt to an AI-driven future. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.