Google’s Tensor G4 chipset will be powering the Pixel 9 family, and we now have the leak we were looking for – but it’s not good.
The Tensor G4 will be the smallest upgrade ever in the Tensor line, according to a new report. It will have eight cores: one Cortex-X4, three Cortex-A720, and four Cortex-A520.
That’s one fewer core than the G3, which had one Cortex-X3, four Cortex-A715, and four Cortex-A510. As a result of the removal of one core, the new Cortex-X4 will deliver better single-core performance (by about 11%), but only 3% greater multi-core performance than the G3.
To keep thermals and power consumption under control, this was allegedly done. According to reports, the main power-consuming component of the G3 was the Exynos 5300 modem. With the Exynos 5400, the Tensor G4 should be up to 50% more efficient than its predecessor. Additionally, it supports satellite connectivity.
The Exynos 5300 modem is rumoured to be used in Google’s forthcoming Pixel 9a, which we assume will use the Tensor G4. It has the same Mali-G715 GPU as the G3, but it’s clocked at 940 MHz instead of 890 MHz.
Google adds custom IP blocks for AI, camera tasks, video encoding and decoding, the Titan M2 security chip, and everything else to the G4, according to reports.
Due to the G4’s improvised nature, it is believed to be a minor upgrade over the G3. For the Pixel 9 family, Google wanted to create an entirely new chip, but it wasn’t ready yet. This minimal update solution was chosen in order not to delay the launch of the devices.
