Rumors have circulated about Google’s decision to switch from Samsung Foundry to TSMC to help manufacture the Tensor chipsets. However, the latest reports suggest that the decision has been taken.
According to a report by a South Korean publication, BusinessKorea, the Tensor 4 chipset for the Pixel 9 lineup will be made at Samsung Foundry. However, the subsequent version for the Pixel 10 will be handled by TSMC.
The report that cites industry experts says that “poor yield and power efficiency” are the primary issues that have forced Google to join hands with TSMC for its upcoming 3-nanometer chipset.
The outlet reports that “Samsung Electronics is heavily focusing on controlling power consumption and heat, yet it still shows 10-20% lower performance compared to TSMC.”
This directly impacts the smartphone’s performance and battery backup. With the advent of on-device AI services, there is a greater focus on the chipset’s power efficiency, heating, and battery performance.
Besides Google, even Qualcomm is said to have switched to TSMC from Samsung for its next-generation flagship chipset – Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
Samsung started offering a 3nm process mass production three years ago. Now, this new report claims below expectations in yield – how many it can make – are a key factor in Google’s decision to switch.
Citing a major global foundry company representative, BusinessKorea reports that “in mobile chips, heat issues can compromise the entire structure of smartphones.” TSMC’s chipsets are considered to be better at power efficiency, so despite TSMC raising the costs of “3nm chips by more than 25% compared to 5nm,” brands have preferred the Taiwanese foundry.
The decision of Google and Qualcomm to move away from Samsung will only widen the gap between the two leading foundries. According to the Korean publication, brands like NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Apple have already outsourced their 3nm chips to TSMC.