You’ll have to be patient to find it though, as it’s the Tensor G5, the SoC planned for the tenth generation of Pixel smartphones.
While Apple has been offering chips etched in 3 nm for several months now (through the A17 Pro and M3, designed for smartphones, respectively – the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max – and PCs), its competitors stick to less fine-grained nodes. This is the case in particular with Google, whose Tensor G3 Pixel 8 but also the upcoming G4 uses Samsung’s 4nm process. However, the Mountain View giant plans to move to 3nm next year, in 2025, with the Tensor G5.
Moving to 3n-technology long after Apple
This is the hypothesis raised by Business Korea, which talks about manufacturing entrusted to TSMC, not Samsung. Well, let’s be transparent, this information is more of a confirmation than a revelation: back in July 2023, we relied on employing the services of a Taiwanese foundry for this fineness of engraving. Remember that in general, with an increase in the fineness of engraving (when the node drops), performance and autonomy improve.
However, the Apple brand must stay one step ahead in this area. Indeed, by 2025 it is highly likely that Apple, which first looked at 3nm in part because of its privileged ties to TSMC, will have initiated the transition to 2 nm or even to 1.4 nm with chips designed to weaponize Macs, iPhones and iPads.
In addition, Google’s other competitors, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Samsung, are also preparing to switch to 3nm in the near future. In fact, maybe as early as this year for their high-end SoC: Size 9400, Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 et Exynos 2500 respectively.
100% proprietary Tensor chip
Coming back to the Tensor G5, it will actually mark the complete divorce between Google and Samsung. A logical consequence of the transition to 3 nm and the production entrusted to TSMC, and no longer to the Korean company (suspected to have difficulties with this finesse), the G5 will be the first fully custom Tensor chip, or, in other words, designed from A to It’s from Google teams.
Indeed, for the first generation, Google was largely inspired by Samsung’s Exynox; it continues to use some legacy IP from the company’s processors.
We’ll have a chance to learn more in the coming months. Especially since before the G5, Google will naturally release the Tensor G4 used for the Pixel 9 series.