Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google and TSMC have reportedly signed a long-term deal to produce Tensor chips for the Pixel phone line.
- This is apparently a three-to-five-year deal and could last until the Pixel 14’s release.
- TSMC has traditionally built more efficient processors than rival Samsung Foundry, which has built all Tensor chips to date.
Google has previously relied on Samsung to produce its Tensor chips for Pixel phones, but that will change with the Pixel 10 series later this year. Top dog TSMC is expected to make the Pixel 10’s Tensor G5 processor. However, it now looks like this won’t be a short-term arrangement by any measure.
Digitimes reports (h/t: Jukanlosreve) that Google and TSMC have a three-to-five-year deal to produce smartphone chips for the Pixel series. The outlet adds that the deal will last until the Pixel 14 range.
What does this mean for future Tensor chips in Pixel phones?
This should be good news for Google’s Pixel phones, as TSMC has long had a reputation for being the best chip manufacturer in the industry. This was starkly illustrated with 2022’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 smartphone chips.
The standard chipset was manufactured by rival Samsung Foundry, while the Plus variant was produced by TSMC. The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 delivered a notable performance boost over the original chip as expected but also yielded major efficiency gains. Efficiency improvements were previously unheard of for Qualcomm’s Plus chips as they are typically overclocked versions of their standard high-end processor.
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Samsung’s chipmaking business also suffered a major blow with the Galaxy S25 series launch. The Galaxy S phones are traditionally powered by both Snapdragon and in-house Exynos chips as part of a dual-sourcing strategy. However, the Galaxy S25 series was exclusively powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. It’s believed that Samsung Foundry couldn’t make enough Exynos 2500 chips for the new Galaxy phones. Yield issues like this are a problem that Google will likely avoid by switching to TSMC, although Google doesn’t sell nearly as many Pixel phones as Samsung’s Galaxy S series anyway.
We’re expecting the Tensor G5 to have a significant efficiency boost over previous chips thanks to TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing process. So we’re expecting the Pixel 10 series to offer good battery life. However, our own reporting suggests that the new chip will be an iterative performance upgrade. Meanwhile, our previous Tensor G6 leak suggests the Pixel 11 could actually be a downgrade. Nevertheless, a long-term partnership between Google and TSMC bodes well for the future of Tensor chips and the Pixel line.
