Google’s custom Pixel chip may not arrive until 2025

According to a report by InformationGoogle originally planned to replace the modified Samsung Exynos chipset used in Pixel phones with an in-house designed “Redondo” chip sometime in 2024. However, the report claims that Google has now pushed back that planned release window to 2025 and instead introduce a new custom processor codenamed “Laguna”.

A former Google Chip executive told Information The challenges of retaining staff and coordinating development between the American and Indian teams are at least partially responsible for the delay. According to the outlet, the team behind the project was frustrated by Google’s decision to cancel development of several tensor chips over the past two years. Source. We have contacted Google to confirm these reports.

The story sounds similar to Meta’s struggle to attempt custom chip designs for VR and mixed reality gear, then a deal with Qualcomm to use Snapdragon XR chips for “future roadmaps of Quest products” and “other devices.” The option to cut the agreement was chosen.

Google is apparently sticking with semi-custom versions of Samsung’s chips for the time being, but plans to shift manufacturing to TSMC — the chip-making giant behind Apple’s iPhone chips and many others. According to the report, “Laguna” will also use an advanced packaging technology almost exclusively used by Apple that provides greater power efficiency while maintaining a thinner chip profile.

According to the report, despite some feature cuts, the Tensor team was unable to provide the Redondo’s design to TSMC by the 2022 deadline for test production. former google executive Information Instead the Redondo will be produced as a test chip to help Tensor engineers design their new Laguna processor.

It will reportedly be called the Tensor G5 and will be built on TSMC’s 3nm process. Advances in power efficiency and performance mean these 3nm chips are in high demand – reportedly from Apple 90 percent reserved TSMC manufacturing for the first generation 3nm process earlier this year.

Google is aiming to ditch Samsung entirely by 2025 in favor of designing its Tensor processors in-house, but Information It is claimed that the search giant will continue to license Arm CPU and GPU cores in the near future. However, there are several potential benefits to Google moving Tensor development away from Samsung – for example, Samsung Exynos-based Tensor chips have been criticized for running hot even with modest workloads. Samsung’s own Exynos-based phones There are some obvious performance issues. Doing development in-house could give Google more freedom to make specific changes to its chip design that would benefit future Pixel phones, tablets, watches, or any other hardware in its plans.

However, designing its own custom processors is expensive, and Google may not have the market presence to ensure that it will get a return from such a heavy investment. Google doesn’t disclose how many Pixel units it sells, but according to IDC data reported by Bloomberg Last October, the company sold 27.6 million Pixel phones since the device was launched in 2016. By comparison, Samsung and Apple project sales of over 257 million and 232 million phone units, respectively, in 2022. LonelyAccording to research firm Canalys,