When Google launched its first Pixel cellphone, we all assumed it would be the iPhone’s biggest competitor. It didn’t fairly work out that means. The Pixel has but to interrupt out amongst Android’s biggest promoting telephones and launches have been plagued with quite a few bugs and points.
That may change with the upcoming Pixel 6. A new report from 9to5Google says that the Pixel 6 will use Google’s first system-on-chip, codenamed “GS101” Whitechapel. The Pixel would then be one in all the solely U.S. Android telephones to ship with out a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The report says Google has “assistance” from Samsung to make the chip and it could share some widespread options. Samsung manufactured a number of of Apple’s earlier A-series chips earlier than Apple shifted to TSMC.
It’s not clear from the report whether or not the chip could be modeled after higher-end processors reminiscent of the Snapdragon 888 or keep nearer to the mid-range like the Pixel 5’s Snapdragon 765.
Overseas telephones from Samsung use its personal Exynos chips, however Qualcomm largely has a monopoly on telephones in the U.S. A homegrown chip from Google could be a serious break and could result in a renaissance for the Pixel, which has struggled to achieve traction. Apple has been making its personal smartphone chips since the iPhone 4 and it provides its handsets an enormous pace and energy effectivity benefit over Android telephones.
This wouldn’t be Google’s first crack at a smartphone chip. It already makes a Tensor Processing Unit for AI cloud-based duties in addition to a smartphone model referred to as the Pixel Neural Core. It additionally made an ISP referred to as Pixel Visual Core for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3, however these duties are actually dealt with by the PNC. The Pixel four additionally included motion-sensing made doable by the Soli chip however was discontinued on the Pixel 5. And all Pixel telephones since the Pixel Three embody a Titan M safety chip for storing biometrics and different delicate information.
Bringing iOS to Android (and perhaps PCs)
However, a system-on-chip could be a wholly totally different animal. More importantly, a Google chip would give the iPhone its first true competitor that controls the “whole stack.” Google already makes one in all the greatest cameras you may get in a smartphone, and not too long ago it has begun siphoning features from Android to provide the Pixel a level of exclusivity. By controlling the processor, {hardware}, and OS (like Apple) Google could create one in all the greatest telephones to run Android. There’s much more that goes into it, in fact, however the Pixel would immediately develop into the closest Android cellphone to an iPhone and make the competitors between the two firms way more contentious.
The biggest change could be to updates. As it stands, Google solely guarantees three years of Android model and safety updates, decrease than Samsung (4 years) and Apple (no less than 5 years). With a customized chip, shopping for a Google cellphone ought to carry the identical assure as an iPhone—mainly that you simply’ll get updates so long as you personal your cellphone. By controlling the guts and the OS, the Pixel cellphone needs to be a gold normal for Android cellphone updates and remove one in all the main causes to purchase an iPhone.
The report additionally says the chip could energy some Chromebooks as properly, just like Apple’s M1 chip for Macs. Google’s earlier Chromebook efforts have used a variety of processors from Intel—that may be one other blow to the chipmaker, which has taken to bashing the MacBook following Apple’s break up. With simpatico between chips, Google could create an analogous system to the Mac and iPhone, with apps that run properly on each techniques, providers that seamlessly sync, and a a lot easier and extra intuitive system for sharing information between them. Chrome OS performs properly sufficient with Android, however with a customized chip, Google could open up the system to be a real prolonged universe that gives a workflow you’ll be able to’t get on Windows.
Of course, none of this is so simple as popping a brand new chip into the subsequent Pixel cellphone. Aside from the complexities of designing the chip, there are quite a few elements that must work and Android itself must be re-optimized for a brand new structure. But if Google is able to make this transformation now, there could be many extra to return—and its biggest goal won’t be Samsung or different Android phone-makers. It could be the iPhone.
Michael Simon has been protecting Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with know-how goes again to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He’s nonetheless ready for that to return again in model tbh.
