There were rumors last year that Google could throw Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors in favor of its own smartphone chips. The internet series giant has reportedly partnered with Samsung to make a high-end processor for Pixel smartphones. The first signs of the upcoming processor have now started appearing, and it looks like we can see it in the Pixel 6.
According to a report by 9Tot5Google, the Pixel 6 will be equipped with Google’s GS101 processor (codenamed ‘Whitechapel’). The chipset was reportedly developed in conjunction with Samsung Semiconductor’s SLSI division, and was built using the South Korean firm’s 5nm LPE manufacturing process. The report claims that references to Exynos were found in connection with Google’s GS101 Whitechapel processor.
A separate report from XDA Developers claims that Google’s first mobile processor features a three-cluster processor, a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) and an integrated security chip codenamed ‘Dauntless’ (like the Titan M). Consistent with previous reports, the processor contains two Cortex-A78 CPU cores, two Cortex-A76 CPU cores, and four Cortex-A55 CPU cores. It can also use a 20-core ARM Mali GPU off the shelf.
The report also claims that Google’s processor has some similarities with Samsung’s Exynos processor, including software components. However, Google may have removed Samsung’s standard ISP and NPU components in favor of its own design. The Pixel 6 series has the code name ‘Slider’ and has two devices: ‘Raven’ and ‘Oriole’. The two codenames probably refer to the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 XL and may become official sometime in Q3 2021.
With the new processor, Google can have complete control over its smartphones and software updates, similar to Apple. It can probably provide higher performance, deeper integration, better camera quality and long-term software update support. Google and Samsung may be working on more chips for Chromebooks and other smart devices.