The Pixel 9 series is without a doubt a success from Google even without knowing sales numbers, mostly because they feel like complete packages with meaningful improvements over previous models that took care of several lingering issues on older Pixel phones. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t still looking to the future of Google’s Pixel line because rumors of massive improvements to Tensor chips could take Google into new smartphone territory. We’re talking about them entering a conversation with Apple on an end-to-end level.
A new report is only adding to that idea by suggesting that the custom Tensor chips scheduled to power the Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 will meet the most recent chip inside Apple’s new iPhone 16 Pro.
As you may recall, Google is rumored to have switched chipset making from Samsung Foundry to TSMC. This is a huge deal before we get to the next part as TSMC is the king of chipmaking. The best example to support this idea is a quick look-back at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which was made by Samsung and struggled mightily in early devices. Qualcomm switched to TSMC to later deliver the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and the efficiency/power/heat improvements were dramatic. We’ve all been waiting for Google to do the same and that should happen next year with Tensor G5 and the Pixel 10 series, followed by the Tensor G6 and Pixel 11.
According to Android Authority, the Tensor G5 (codenamed “laguna”) will be manufactured on TSMC’s 3nm N3E node, which is apparently the same process node from the A18 Pro chip just announced by Apple for the iPhone 16 Pro. They call this the “best process node currently available” and that it should be a noteworthy upgrade over the 4nm node from Samsung in the Tensor G4.
In addition to that bit of news, the Tensor G6 (codename “malibu”) will be manufactured on TSMC’s yet-to-be-released 3nm N3P node that is rumored for Apple’s A19 chip. In other words, this is the next chip that Google will showcase and should be the newest best-in-class type of chip that Apple has signed off on. Apple’s chips really are industry-leading almost every year and so this is a really big deal should Google get in on the action. The only other note to make there is that it is still 3nm and not 2nm as was previously rumored.
So to recap, because this is all pretty boring stuff to have a conversation about, you just need to know that Google’s Tensor game is about to jump several levels in terms of performance and efficiency. And you have to keep that in mind even as we talk about how great the Pixel 9 is. The Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 could be monsters.