Google’s First FULLY CUSTOM Chipset Is Manufactured by TSMC. It’s Also Based on a 3nm Process!

Performance… will it still be an issue despite this?

The Tensor series is Google’s homebrew chipset designed specifically for the Pixel series starting with the Pixel 6. While the Pixel 9 will be launching a month from now, its chipset, the Tensor G4, is already being overshadowed by the Tensor G5, even by Google themselves. Mainly because the Tensor G5 ditches Samsung’s fabrication in favor of TSMC and is the first true “Google chipset” because it uses Google’s own architecture instead of Samsung’s.

While manufacturing under Samsung meant that Google could save time redesigning the chipset themselves and just make small refinements when the next Pixel phones are announced, this also means that the company is stuck using Samsung’s technology which is not that impressive compared to what TSMC can do. Samsung’s own Exynos chipsets have caused complaints from customers due to its inefficiency and thermal issues.

The codename for the chipset is “Laguna”, Spanish for “lake” and refers to Laguna Beach. This codename is found in the image above as “LGA”. If we’re following Google’s tradition, this is consistent. The company is known for using acronyms to shorten its chipsets’ codenames, such as WHI for “Whitechapel” (Tensor G1) or even the Tensor G4’s ZPR, for “Zuma Pro”.

While at first Google has relied on Samsung’s tech for its phones, it slowly has been replacing many of these for its own technologies, ranging from VoIP communication to image processing, and now a newly refined chipset.

The chipset is set to debut on the Pixel 10 next year. See, it’s not even a year and it seems like the Pixel 9 is already on its EOL, and that has not been released yet.

Source: 9to5Google, Android Authority, GizmoChina