The price to pay for most Android smartphones and tablets is dealing with Google apps that may help the company generate ad revenue via personalized Google ads that you might see online. Many people have no problem with that trade-off, considering that Google has a large ecosystem of useful apps, including Gmail, Chrome, Google Maps, YouTube, and many others. The cost of one Android tablet that runs a private “deGoogled” operating system is $798, or $1 cheaper than Apple’s 13-inch M3 iPad Air. However, the Murena Volla Tablet isn’t exactly on par with the iPad Air when it comes to hardware and performance. It’s a mid-range tablet that runs an Android-based operating system called /e/OS, which is designed to work without Google apps and services.
Then again, the beauty of Android is that anybody can use the operating system to power smartphones and tablets. But companies do not have to agree to use Google services in the process unless they want to ship their device with the Google Play Store. Amazon may be the best example of that. The retailer makes its line of Fire tablets, which run a custom version of Android. Like the Murena Volla Tablet, Fire tablets do not offer Google services, including Google Play, unless you sideload them yourself. That may be the biggest issue to overcome if you want to buy the Murena Volla Tablet for nearly $800 — you won’t have access to the millions of apps on Google’s store by default.
The Murena Volla Tablet focuses on privacy
The upside of the Murena Volla Tablet is that it prioritizes privacy. Each device comes with a free account tied to an email address and 1 GB of cloud storage space. The company says on its product pages that “/e/OS is at the core of our privacy by design ecosystem,” explaining that the operating system will not track users. “We don’t scan your data in your phone or in your cloud space, and we don’t track your location hundred times a day or collect what you’re doing with your apps.” The operating system will feature open-source apps instead of the Google defaults you might find on a traditional Android tablet, including email, maps, camera, browser, and other apps.
Murena also has its own app directory, which appears to be similar to an app store like Google Play, where users can download other apps. It’s unclear how large the repository is, but Murena notes users have access to “almost all Android apps.” What’s great about Android is that users can sideload apps, which means that even without a Google Play Store present, you may still find all of the apps you need. The problem with sideloading apps, however, is that you’re more exposed to malicious attacks. The Google Play Store has an extensive malware-scanning system that you won’t have access to when sideloading.
Murena says on its website that its app directory will show whether apps protect user data via a privacy rating. The tablet also supports a feature called “microG” that allows apps that need Google services to work on the tablet without sending data to Google. As for in-app purchases, the company doesn’t support the functionality as of this writing.
Do the Murena Volla Tablet’s software features make up for its price-to-specs ratio?
The Murena Volla Tablet’s hardware won’t necessarily impress buyers looking for flagship devices. The tablet features a large 12.6-inch display (2,560 by 1,600 resolution) with small bezels and runs on the MediaTek Helio 99 processor paired with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. It has a 13-megapixel main camera on the back and a 5-megapixel front camera. The Volla Tablet weighs about 500 grams, features a 10,000 mAh battery, and comes with cellular connectivity for European markets. The tablet ships without any accessories in the box. You only get the Murena Volla Tablet, with the company advising buyers to use their existing cables and chargers. Murena also says it offers accessories for the device, but they’re sold separately.
Put differently, the Murena Volla Tablet can’t compete with the best Android tablets out there, devices that feature high-end performance and run Google’s version of Android. But that’s also not the point — the privacy-focused /e/OS firmware is at the core of Murena’s sales pitch. Still, it’s worth noting that the tablet runs Android 14, which was released in 2023. It’s unclear when it will be updated to Android 16, but Murena says on its website that it aims to offer at least five years of software updates and security patches for its devices. For those looking to go all-in, the company also sells /e/OS phones in addition to the Murena Volla Tablet.
