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Ever since their inception, Google Tensor chipsets were based on Exynos chips and fabbed by Samsung. That’s expected to change with next year’s Tensor G5 as Google is expected to make the switch to TSMC’s process node. Android Authority shared an extensive report hailing directly from Google’s gChips division, which details what’s to come from the Tensor G5 and G6 SoCs.
Tensor G5 (codenamed “laguna”) will power the upcoming Pixel 10 series and will be manufactured on TSMC’s 3nm-class N3E process. That’s the same node used for Apple’s A18 Pro chip inside the iPhone 16 Pro series and arguably the leading process node at the moment.
Tensor G5 will feature an updated CPU cluster consisting of 1x Arm Cortex-X4 prime core, 5x Cortex-A725 performance cores and 2x Arm Cortex-A520 efficiency units. In addition, the GPU will also get a bump up to a dual-core Imagination Technologies (IMG) DXT-48-1536 unit clocked at 1.1 GHz.
The new GPU unit inside the Tensor G5 will support ray tracing – a first for Tensor chipsets and will offer GPU Virtualization for accelerated graphics in virtual machines. Google is also expected to offer a 14% improvement in AI tasks thanks to a new NPU.
Tensor G6 (codenamed “malibu”) is expected to be fabbed on TSMC’s upcoming N3P node. While still a 3nm process, it will offer substantial gains in performance, power efficiency and size. Based on a leaked document, N3P will offer a 5% jump in frequency compared to N3E while also being capable of drawing 7% less power and taking up 4% less surface area.