The Google Pixel 9 might not get much of a chipset upgrade
The rumors start here
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We’re only a couple of weeks away from the bigGoogle Pixel 8reveal, but there’s already talk of what’s coming with theGooglePixel 9 – and it seems the 2024 flagship will only be offering a modest upgrade as far as its chipset goes.
According to sources speaking toAndroid Authority, the Tensor G4 chip fitted inside the Pixel 9 is going to be “semi-custom” and “co-designed withSamsung’s System LSI division”. Also, it “will most likely be a smaller upgrade than initially planned”.
In other words, it looks as though Google’slong-term aimof producing a fully custom system-on-a-chip (SoC) without Samsung’s help is going to have to wait until 2025 and the launch of the Google Pixel 10 smartphones.
Android Authority compares the jump in performance to the one we got between the original Tensor chip (fitted inside thePixel 6) and the Tensor G2 chip (fitted inside thePixel 7) that came a year later – a jump, but not much of one.
Chips with everything
Ultimately, Google wants to get whereAppleis: designing its own SoCs for its phones. It means software and hardware can be more tightly integrated, because teams from the same company are communicating together.
It also means Google could tailor its chips more specifically for what it wants its Pixel phones to do (think lots of AI and advanced image processing). It’s a bit like building your own PC compared with picking up a pre-built one.
However, custom chipsets take a long time to develop, and need a lot of resources devoting to them – which is why Google has so far been partnering with Samsung to make the silicon that has been fitted inside recent Pixel phones.
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It now seems as though that will continue for the Pixel 9, which should appear later next year. In the meantime, the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro andPixel Watch 2launches are set for Wednesday, October 4, and we’ll be bringing you all the news as it happens.
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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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