Google silicon could make the Pixel the biggest iPhone competitor

When Google launched its first Pixel cellphone, all of us assumed it could be the iPhone’s greatest competitor. It didn’t fairly work out that approach. The Pixel has but to interrupt out amongst Android’s greatest promoting telephones and launches have been plagued with quite a few bugs and points.

Which may change with the upcoming Pixel 6. A brand 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 of many solely U.S. Android telephones to ship with out a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The report says Google has “help” from Samsung to make the chip and it might share some widespread options. Samsung manufactured a number of of Apple’s earliest A-series chips earlier than shifting to TSMC.

It’s not clear from the report whether or not the chip could be modeled after higher-end processors such because the Snapdragon 888 or keep nearer to the mid-range like the Pixel 5’s Snapdragon 765.

Abroad telephones from Samsung use its personal Exynos chips, however Qualcomm largely has a monopoly on telephones within the U.S. A homegrown chip from Google could be a serious break and will result in a renaissance for the Pixel, which has struggled to achieve traction. Apple has been making its personal smartphone chips for the reason that iPhone 4 and it provides its handsets an enormous pace and energy effectivity benefit over Android telephones.

Extra importantly, a Google chip would give the iPhone its first true competitor that controls the “entire stack.” Google already makes among the best cameras you will get in a smartphone, and just lately 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 might create among the best telephones to run Android. There’s much more that goes into it, in fact, however the Pixel would immediately turn into the closest Android cellphone to an iPhone and make the competitors between the 2 firms way more contentious.

The report additionally says the chip might energy some Chromebooks as properly, just like Apple’s M1 chip for Macs. Google’s earlier Chromebook efforts have used a spread of processors from Intel—that will be one other blow to the chipmaker, which has taken to bashing the MacBook following Apple’s cut up.