Pixel 10 And 11 Leak Confirms Google Ditching Samsung For TSMC

Recently, the Snapdragon 8 Elite launched with the same N3E process node that Apple uses for its A18 Pro chip. Well, Google doesn’t want to stay behind. The company is shifting to this process node for its upcoming Pixel 10’s Tensor G5 (codenamed “Laguna”). A massive leak showcases that Google will finally bid adieu to Samsung and join hands with TSMC.

This comes from Android Authority‘s Kamila Wojciechowska, as she gives us a good idea of what Google has in store for its Tensor chipsets moving forward. For starters, Kamila states that Google wants to design its Tensor chipsets internally. This is why it’s dropping Samsung to team up with TSMC. Additionally, ever since Google has shifted to its custom Exynos-based Tensor chipsets, complaints of poor thermals, connectivity as well as battery life have been flooding in.

TSMC’s processors have always performed better in these regards and beyond, making them much more favorable. Currently, TSMC’s 3nm N3E, which is used in both iPhones and MacBooks, is most likely the most powerful process node out there right now. Definitely much superior to Samsung’s latest 4LPE-based 4nm Tensor G4.

However, that’s not where it ends. Thanks to a big leak from Google’s gChips division, Kamila also got a good look at some official documents that reveal the Pixel 10’s Tensor G5’s core configurations. Going by that, the Tensor G5 will feature 1x Arm Cortex-X4, 5x Arm Cortex-A725, and 2x Arm Cortex-A520.

It’s a rather strange decision to stick to the Cortex-X4 as the primary core, especially since the Cortex-X925 brings significant improvements across the board. However, in comparison to the Tensor G4’s 3x Arm Cortex-A720, you now get 5x Arm Cortex-A725, which is good. But, the Tensor G4 features 4x Arm Cortex-A520 instead of the G5’s 2x.

Kamila has also got a look at the GPU of the upcoming Tensor G5, which further adds to the Pixel 10 leaks. She has spotted a rather new IMG DXT GPU with two cores. Apart from the fact that it will come with Ray Tracing and GPU Virtualization, nothing much is known about it. But, given that these are gaming features, is Google finally taking this domain seriously like they should?

Given the kind of performance boost the Snapdragon 8 Elite brings to the table and how Apple has already ported a bunch of AAA titles to its phones, it’s high time that Google joined in on the fun.

Additionally, the major leak also reveals details of the Tensor G6 which the Pixel 11 will adorn, and is still a far cry. Now, this chipset will be based on TSMC’s upcoming N3P node which Apple’s A19 is expected to flaunt as well. From the looks of it, the chipset will bring quite the improvements in frequency and power efficiency. However, it’s most likely not going to be a 2nm chipset as expected, and will stick to 3nm.

As expected, Google will further improve the Tensor’s TPU, making it 14% faster. Additionally, this improved TPU also brings small embedded RISC-V cores for Google’s Developers, which allows on-device training. For your reference, up until the Tensor G4, we saw a combination of 13/6.5 TOPS for the TPU. Now, with the upcoming Tensor G5, we are looking forward to an 18/9 TOPS combo.

With that said, that’s all for Pixel 10 and 11 leaks for now. While I’m quite hopeful to see some impressive changes to Google’s upcoming Tensor chipsets, missing out on the new primary core and using a stale one isn’t a good idea. It sure isn’t the performance boost I was hoping to see.

What about you? What do you think about the upcoming Google Pixel 10’s Tensor G5’s latest leaks? Cry your heart out in the comments down below!