Like Apple, which launched in 2010 its first ARM SoC, Google is also developing its own SoC. This homemade chip could be the heart of future products – Pixel smartphones and Chromebooks – next year, according to Axios. The Pixel 5 expected for this fall could, therefore, continue to operate with a Snapdragon from Qualcomm.
In this process, Qualcomm would be deprived of an important client (not necessarily in volume but in prestige). Google has apparently appealed to Samsung for the design and production of the chip. The piece of silicon, code-named “Whitechapel”, would indeed be engraved in 5 nm thanks to the technology developed by Samsung.
Google is developing its own processor for future Pixels
This fine engraving is also in use for the upcoming Exynos SoCs from the Korean manufacturer. The future Apple A14 would also be engraved in 5nm, this time at TSMC.
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The Google chip would contain eight cores and would be optimized for machine learning technologies that the search engine is fond of. It would also serve the “always-on” functionality of Google Assistant. The first device to benefit from this chip could be the Pixel 6, while a version for Chromebooks would arrive soon after.
Google has set the stage. The company has developed its own chip to speed up AI calculations and Visual Core for processing photos. It therefore seemed logical enough to design a proprietary chip.
It is worth to mention that recently, Qualcomm has decided to link all sales of its new flagship Snapdragon 865 chip with an external X55 5G modem. This decision could discourage smartphone manufacturers from using this chip in their new models. Instead, they choose other options to reduce the cost of manufacturing their devices and not raise their prices in stores. Some manufacturers of flagship smartphones has no interest in using Qualcomm expensive processors this year, especially in a saturated market and falling sales due to a pandemic.
