Google could use TSMC-made 'Tensor' chips in 2025 Pixel smartphones: Report

Google has developed its Tensor chips for Pixel smartphones using Samsung's foundry since the first generation in 2021. It could change in 2025 though

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Google could move to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for its Tensor chips, which would debut in 2025 Pixel smartphones. In 2021, Google partnered with Samsung to debut its in-house Tensor chips. Since then, the South Korean electronics maker’s chip entity has been developing Tensor chips for Google. It could change in 2025 though with TSMC fabricating Tensor chips for Google, reported Android Authority.

Tensor G5 chip, which is referred to as “Laguna Beach” within the company, has appeared on publicly available trade database, confirming that the chips will be made by the Taiwanese semiconductor chip maker, the report added. The data available suggests that the company exporting the chips from Taiwan is Google LLC, and the chips are being imported by a company called Tessolve Semiconductor in India. The report said that Google is likely offloading some of the chip testing process to this company, which was done internally at Samsung until last year. 

Among other details revealed in the report, the early versions of the Tensor G5 chip has 16GB of built-in RAM which is likely to increase in the future versions. The Tensor G5 chip will likely be based on TSMC’s 3nm architecture and will bring significant improvements in terms of performance, power efficiency and thermal management.

For the next-generation Pixel 9 series smartphones, Google will likely debut the Samsung made Tensor G4 chip, which the report states will bring minor performance upgrades. However, the Pixel 9 series is expected to get a major overhaul in terms of design.  

This year’s Pixel series will likely feature four new models – Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Unlike previous generation models, Pixel 9 Pro will be of the same size as the vanilla Pixel 9, while the bigger display will be reserved for the new Pro XL model. Google will likely rebrand the next-generation Pixel Fold by incorporating it into its flagship number series. Additionally, the Pixel 9 series smartphones will feature a new floating island-style camera module and a flat frame design. The standard Pixel 9 will likely get a glossy back panel while the ones on the Pro model will have a matte texture.