The Pixel phones may be getting a long overdue feature

XDA’s Mishaal Rahman has uncovered what might be a silver bullet coming in Android 14. That silver bullet is called Advanced Memory Protection and it could finally stand as a prevention against memory safety vulnerabilities.

Before we go any further, let me explain what a memory safety vulnerability is. Essentially, a memory safety bug is a problem with the way an application may handle or use memory in a device. 

What happens with these types of bugs is that an application could be capable of writing beyond a memory region it has been allotted, which can then be used by attackers to corrupt the application’s intended behavior.

Also: How to find and remove spyware from your phone

Think of it this way. You have a key on your keyring to your house, and it works like a charm to let you in. Your neighbor also has a key on their keyring for their house. One day you two bump into one another and, unknown to you, both of your keyrings have a flaw in that that allows your neighbor’s key to pass from their keyring to yours. 

You now have a key to both houses and can enter at any time. That keyring contains the memory protection bug, which allowed this to happen.

There are a few different types of memory safety bugs but what’s important to know is that Google estimated that 90% of Android vulnerabilities are of this kind. 

If what Mishaal Rahman discovered is true, then those types of errors could be a thing of the past with the next release of Android. And if Google was correct in its estimation, that could do away with 90% of Android’s vulnerabilities.

There is, of course, a big ol’ catch to this. The new Advanced Memory Protection feature comes by way of the Memory Tagging Extension in ARM V9 CPU cores. It’s the V9 that should deflate the joy from any Pixel 7 phone  and earlier user. You see, the Pixel 7 phones use the V8.2 Tensor chip, which doesn’t include the Memory Tagging Extension. 

Also: Google Pixel 7 vs Pixel 7 Pro: How to buy the right one for you

What does that mean? In order to gain the added security feature, you’ll have to upgrade to the Pixel 8 or the Pixel Fold when they arrive near the third quarter of 2023. Unfortunately, it also means Android devices that are not in the Pixel line (and don’t have the ARM V9 CPU cores) will also not enjoy this feature. The good news is that Armv9 architecture started previewing in flagship phones of 2022. 

To find out if your device contains ARM V9 CPU cores, you’ll have to first find out what chipset your device has. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, which is based on the ARMv9 architecture. Other devices that use this same chip include the OnePlus 11 series, Motorola X40 series, Oppo Find X series, and the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.

Review: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Best smartphone of the year (so far)

The sad truth about this is that most low and mid-range Android phones (which happen to be the most widely used on the planet) do not include CPUs based on the ARMv9 technology. That means the majority of Android phones on the planet are (and will continue to be) vulnerable to memory protection errors. This is not a problem Google can easily solve with a software patch because they don’t create all of the apps that are installed on phones around the globe.

Of course, as time marches on, CPUs based on the ARMv9 technology will become cheap enough for any phone to include, but that time is not now. What can you do in the meantime? Here’s my best advice:

• Always apply updates to your operating system as soon as they are available.
• Install only the apps you need and only install them from the Google Play Store.
• Check daily for app updates and apply them immediately.
• Only connect to secure networks.
• Clear app caches regularly.
• Use two-factor authentication whenever possible.

Unfortunately, there will continue to be not enough protection against memory protection errors, unless you happen to have a device that makes use of the ARMv9 technology. 

There is, of course, another caveat for fans of Pixel phones. Pixel phones (starting with the 6) don’t use Snapdragon CPUs and, instead, opt for Google’s own Tensor chip. There’s no guarantee the Tensor 3 chip (that will ship with the Pixel 8 line) will make use of the ARM V9 CPU cores. And given the Pixel 8 is the only Google phone that will sport the T3 chip, even the much-anticipated Pixel Fold will miss out on this protection.

Review: Google’s best Pixel phones zoom past Samsung on this one camera feature

So, if you want an Android phone that includes the ARMv9 Architecture, your best bet (for now) is to go with one from the list above. If you’re a Pixel fan (as I am), wait until the official specs for the 8 arrive before deciding if you want to continue with Google’s line of phones or not. For me, protecting my device against these types of vulnerabilities is a must, and if Google decides to pull the ARMv9 cores from the Pixel 8, I might have to consider jumping ship to a device that retains the feature.

Hold up

One thing to keep in mind is that much of this is speculation. What Mishaal Rahaman discovered is a feature in Android 14, called Advanced Memory Protection, which can be enabled on the device. The first question that comes to mind is whether non-Pixel devices that have ARMv9 CPU cores include this feature. 

The second is whether Pixel Phones older than the 8th iteration even include the feature. Probably not. The third question that comes to mind is whether Samsung Knox (the security technology that ships with Samsung devices) protects against these vulnerabilities using Android 14’s feature or its own.

Also: 3 things Google needs to fix for Android to catch up to iOS

Sadly, these questions cannot be answered until Android 14 gets closer to release. The good news is that help is coming for the most common security vulnerability to plague the operating system. And if Google retains the feature in the Pixel 8, you can be sure I will upgrade from my Pixel 7 the day the 8s are released.