According to reports, Google will switch its Tensor G5 processor from Samsung to TSMC for the Pixel 10 series. It’s great news, seeing how great Qualcomm’s and Apple’s latest chips are. The Android Authority has leaked some bad news, though.
According to reports, the Tensor G5 will be similar to the Tensor G4. For this new processor, Google uses both in-house designed and off-the-shelf IP. A number of companies build parts of this chip, including ARM, Imagination Technologies, VeriSilicon, and Synopsys.
Google continues to use ARM Cortex for its CPU, which is not surprising. The cores are reportedly the same ones as the G4. Google has chosen Imagination Technologies DXT for its GPU. Tensor chips previously used the ARM Mali GPU.
Additionally, Google has carried over TPU, DSP, Audio Processor, and Memory Compressor. Google is ditching its own custom AV1 codec, however.
In the past 10 years, Google has always placed a high priority on cameras. The Image Signal Processor is a big part of that. The Google ISP previously used Samsung’s ISP, which had some custom blocks. It will be a fully custom Google ISP this year. So we’re looking forward to seeing what Google’s Pixel 10 will bring. Since the beginning, Google has heavily optimized its cameras for Pixel.
Even though Samsung allowed Google to use a lot of their own components, it also allowed Google to test and see what worked. Google is now customizing more and more components with the move to TSMC. We might see a fully customized chipset from Google in the future, but that is unlikely.
