Google Pixel 10 Could Ditch Samsung in Favour of TSMC for Tensor G5 SoC: Report

Google Pixel 10 might get its chipset manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), in accordance with a report. Although the smartphone is not slated to launch till late 2025, there have been reviews that Google might cease utilizing Samsung’s foundry submit Pixel 9 and the Tensor G4. It is now being speculated that the corporate has already began manufacturing the pattern models of the chip as a way to get its making course of up and working – though the launch is greater than a yr away.

Google Pixel 10’s Tensor G5 Chip: Details

According to an Android Authority report, the chip was allegedly noticed within the transport manifest of publicly obtainable databases. Previous reviews have instructed that the chip is codenamed “Laguna Beach”, the reference of which will be discovered within the database.

It then goes on to say the chip revision – “A0”, which is reportedly the primary iteration of the Tensor G5, that means additional revisions will most certainly happen earlier than it is able to energy the Pixel 10 sequence. The itemizing additionally mentions “NPI-OPEN”, which reportedly means it’s a “New Product Introduction”.

The report additional speculates that the chip could also be considerably purposeful because it has handed the SLT (system-level take a look at) – a take a look at that chips bear the place they’re put via a simulated consumer surroundings and wherein end-user operations are mimicked.

Thus, whereas the introduction of the Google Pixel 10 continues to be virtually over a yr away, the manufacturing course of for its chipset appears to have already kicked off.

Why the shift?

In the previous few years, Google’s Pixel sequence of smartphones have featured Tensor chips made in collaboration with Samsung Foundry. While there have been no complaints regarding their efficiency, thermal administration and effectivity are areas the place the telephones have struggled. The difficulty additionally plagued the Pixel 8 sequence which not solely struggled to dissipate warmth correctly but additionally had common battery life.

In the smartphone market, most units are launched with TSMC-fabricated chips. According to a report by Counterpoint Research, Samsung Foundry had a market share of simply 13 % in Q1 2024, in comparison with TSMC’s 62 %.