Upcoming Pixel 6 phone expected to feature Google-made SoC

[Joe White]

Rumor mill: Google is reportedly developing its own custom system-on-a-chip (SoC) for next-generation Pixel handsets. The chip, which is being co-developed with Samsung, is expected to premiere in upcoming Pixel 6 later this year. The news come following a previous earnings call in which Google CEO Sundar Pichai described “deeper investments in hardware” and teased a “terrific roadmap ahead” for 2021.

We had heard that Google’s Pixel 6 would be powered by the Snapdragon 775 or 780G, however a new report from 9to5Google claims that this year Google will be debuting a new in-house SoC codenamed “Whitechapel.” According to internal Google documents shared in the report, this will begin with the "GS101" chip in upcoming Pixel 6 phones.

Google is co-developing the GS101 alongside Samsung, who has plenty of experience developing Exynos SoCs for its Galaxy Android handsets. A second report from XDA-Developers sheds more light on the SoC, claiming that the GS101 will feature a three cluster setup with a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) for machine learning and an integrated security chip.

It’s also possible that Google’s long-term plan is to use in-house chips in both Pixel handsets and Chromebooks, in a similar way that Apple uses A-series on iPhones and iPads, and most recently M-series chips on computers.

Through tightly integrating hardware and software, Google may be hoping for a higher level of control over Pixel hardware, while ensuring security and reliability. It’s a big move for a relatively low volume product, but possibly a smart one if they succeed, making a game-changing improvement in Google’s Pixel lineup.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/89171-upcoming-pixel-6-phone-expected-feature-google-made.html

 

[Geralt]

This is my next phone. Looking forward!

 

[kiwigraeme]

Because Google/Alphabet raked in heaps of moolah - they have throwaway projects . IMHO this is something both them and Microsoft need to be doing as a core strategy - as chips get more flexible and powerful - they need to control this . I know nothing of chip design - but I imagine there are simulators - if so then googles' AI can get to work.
Imagine when the man on the street can order online a 1000 run of a SOC they crafted ( with suitable software ) and get it delivered a week/month later - then modders, retrogaming , inventors will have lots of fun

 

[Nobina]

They are working with Samsung which has their own Exynos line which is notorious for being considerably worse than Snapdragon equivalent. I wonder will it have some sort of privacy invading feature baked into it.

 

[Fearghast]

I am curious if they make another (I.e. second) leap with camera in Pixel history.
I really like pictures taken with my Pixel 1 and 5, but ... drum roll please ... bigger sensors would solve a lot of issues with blur and excessive noise in HDR demanding situations ... it would introduce not so nice low depth of field, but I am pretty sure that's no issue for almighty Camera2API :-D

 

[defaultluser]

They are working with Samsung which has their own Exynos line which is notorious for being considerably worse than Snapdragon equivalent. I wonder will it have some sort of privacy invading feature baked into it.

They canceled Exynos custom cores last year - currently they are following Qualcomm's footsteps ( they just rebrand ARM cores as Kryo).

Samsung Confirms Custom CPU Development Cancellation

www.anandtech.com

They know what crap Mali are, so they're working a deal with AMD. Should be ready to roll-over Qualcomm's Adreno by next-year.