Google says its new Pixel phones feature processor designed in-house
Google is making a bigger bet on smartphones by
joining rivals Apple Inc.
and Samsung Electronics
Co. in designing the device’s most critical component in-house: the main
processor.
The Alphabet Inc. company said on Monday that its upcoming flagship
phones, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, will include new Tensor chips when they go
on sale later this year. Google had previously used Qualcomm Inc.
processors in all of its Pixel phones since the first models launched in 2016.
The new chip is designed to bolster artificial-intelligence technology and
improve both speech recognition and the processing of photos and video.
The new component will be Google’s first system-on-a-chip -- technology
that integrates the device’s key elements. Designing these kinds of processors
takes years and is a massive investment, financially and in terms of resources.
In order for such an undertaking to yield returns, Google’s future Pixel phones
will likely have to sell better than previous models.
Apple has
been making chips for its iPhones since 2010, but the company sells over 100
million units per year. Samsung also handles
massive volume. It’s the world’s second-largest chipmaker and sells more phones
than Apple.
Google’s Android operating system is the most popular smartphone
software, used by companies such as Samsung to run their
devices. But Google’s own phones haven’t had as big an impact, even while
earning praise for their designs and features.
The Pixel sales were lackluster for their first few years, before
increasing in 2019 when the company focused more attention on lower-end
handsets. But that growth sputtered. In the first half of 2021, Pixel market
share decreased 7% year over year, according to Counterpoint Research. OnePlus,
another small phone maker, saw sales increase over 400%. Motorola, Apple, Nokia
and Samsung also grew.
Google plans to launch a new low-end 5a phone this month, but that
device is expected to continue using a Qualcomm processor.
Google didn’t provide technical specifications for its new
processor, but the company developed the component with several former Apple
chip engineers on staff. It’s unclear how it will ultimately perform in its
first iteration against more seasoned offerings from Qualcomm, Apple and
others. The chip relies on an Arm Holdings instruction set, the same underlying
technology used by most of the industry.
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