We’re still waiting to try out the second-gen Tensor chip
Source: Google
Last year, Google’s Pixel 6 series brought many firsts to the Pixel lineup. Perhaps the most important of them was the inclusion of the Google Tensor chip. While it was designed in-house by Google, the company notably enlisted the help of Samsung for actually putting it together. It looks like this collaboration will keep going for the foreseeable future, as Samsung is reported to be already hard at work testing a next-generation Google Tensor chip — one that could be interesting if you’re planning to put off your Pixel purchase until 2023.
It’s important to mention here that we’re not talking about the second-generation Tensor chip. The launch of the Pixel 7 is due in weeks, after all, and prototypes are already in the wild, so it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to begin testing that SoC now. Instead, this one, as per a report from GalaxyClub (via SamMobile), looks like it will be the third-generation Tensor that is expected to debut on the Pixel 8 next year.
How can we tell for sure? For one, the chip, codenamed Zuma, is being tested on a developer board codenamed Ripcurrent, while the upcoming Tensor chip was known to be tested on a developer board codenamed Cloudripper. It also has the model number S5P9865, while the first Tensor had S5P9845 and the second-gen Tensor has been associated in the past with the model number S5P9855.
Of course, the Pixel 7 — and its second-gen Tensor — have yet to hit store shelves. The Pixel 8 is still a good year away and, right now, probably in an early stage of development. Regardless of when these rumors pop up, we’d advise taking them with a grain of salt. Knowing Google’s penchant for having pictures of its upcoming phones show up mysteriously everywhere on the Internet months before their release, it’ll likely just be a few months before more details about the Pixel 8 start dripping in.
