Google Readies Custom Chip for Pixel Phones and Chromebooks

[MacRumors]

Google has made significant progress toward developing its own custom-made main processor in recent weeks, reports Axios.

According to the report, Google's Pixel phones could be powered by the processors as soon as next year - a potential blow to Qualcomm, which currently supplies Google with the main processor in its flagship phones.

The chip, code-named Whitechapel, was designed in cooperation with Samsung, whose state-of-the-art 5-nanometer technology would be used to manufacture the chips, according to a source familiar with Google's effort.

Google recently received its first working versions of the 8-core ARM processor, according to the report's sources. The chip is said to feature hardware optimized for machine learning, and will complement Google's existing custom Pixel chips dedicated to machine learning and image processing tasks.

Some of its silicon will also be given over to improving the performance and "always-on" capabilities of Google Assistant, according to the report.

The tech giant is said to be hoping that future versions of the processor will be suitable for its Chromebooks, but the Pixel is its first priority.

Apple was one of the first mobile device makers to design its own mobile processors, which have delivered increasingly impressive performance over recent years and allowed the company to save on costs.

Honing its chips over many iterations has enabled it to improve on already blistering speeds and add unique capabilities to its smartphones and tablets. Google has hired a number of chip experts from its rivals, including Apple, and will undoubtedly be hoping to mirror those achievements in the years to come.

Article Link: Google Readies Custom Chip for Pixel Phones and Chromebooks

 

[martyjmclean]

Apple is so far ahead and Google’s hardware is a bit wonky, so I’m definitely intrigued to see how this turns out!

 

[ghanwani]

The reason why restaurant food tastes the same everywhere is because they source their ingredients from the same place and they hire the same people that keep moving from one restaurant to another.

It is the same with tech.

 

[rp2011]

Awesome. Competition is always great for consumers, and Google is always able to come up with their own interesting Spin and takes on things.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Right now estimates are that Google only sells about 6 million Pixel phones per year.

Samsung sells more phones in a couple weeks than Google sells in an entire year.

It might be good for Chromebooks, though. But are Chromebooks searching for new processor technologies?

I'll be shocked if this endeavour is still around in three years... knowing how Google cancels stuff.

How much will this cost Google to develop their own processors for their own phones?

 

[jonnysods]

Man Qualcomm will take a beating if Google leave.

 

[xxray]

Yay for competition!

 

[Tekguy0]

For the phone this makes sense, but most chromebooks use base-model Celerons, Pentiums, Atoms, AMD A-series, and a few ARM chips, mostly from MediaTek. It will be cool to see what they come up with, but it may end up in a high-end chromebook. Who wants that?

 

[djcerla]

They will get bored very quickly and drop the project.

Their hardware sales’ volume is nowhere close to justify the enormous R&D for chips.

 

[Psychicbob]

aaaaand Apple buy out Qualcomm

 

[Blackstick]

In before the Android fanboys go "Google had it first."

Oh wait, they were 10 years late.

 

[69Mustang]

Man Qualcomm will take a beating if Google leave.

Outside of the negative optics of possibly losing a big named customer, this would hardly even register on Qualcomm's radar. Pixel's marketing and brand recognition is far, far, far greater than it's sales impact. Pixel sales have never even gotten large enough to get out of the "Other" category in market share analysis. In that sense, Pixel and Surface brands share the same boat.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Meanwhile the Pickle phones still can't make it through lunch without a recharge. ?

 

[now i see it]

Google has made significant progress toward developing its own custom-made main processor in recent weeks,

Weeks?

 

[koil]

The reason why restaurant food tastes the same everywhere is because they source their ingredients from the same place and they hire the same people that keep moving from one restaurant to another.

It is the same with tech.

I see what you're getting at, but Android devices running Samsungs own Exynos doesn't come close to beating same-gen Apple devices in benchmarks. Especially not looking at single core performance.

 

[RickDEGH]

Mostly very civil comments here towards Google compared to what you see when the name Apple comes up on any Android site.

 

[squirrellydw]

Im sure they just copied Apples chip.

 

[rp2011]

Right now estimates are that Google only sells about 6 million Pixel phones per year.

Samsung sells more phones in a couple weeks than Google sells in an entire year.

It might be good for Chromebooks, though. But are Chromebooks searching for new processor technologies?

I'll be shocked if this endeavour is still around in three years... knowing how Google cancels stuff.

How much will this cost Google to develop their own processors for their own phones?

I think it has great promise as the Android market share is huge. It’s all about economies of scale, so the more products Google can put these chips into, the more viable their endeavor.

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

Mostly very civil comments here towards Google compared to what you see when the name Apple comes up on any Android site.

Even with the vast vitriol you speak of... all but the most looney, even on an Android fan site have been begrudgingly giving Apple their processor props for the last few years!
That being said- I think there is a common anti-consumer enemy here in Qualcomm. They’ve had a stranglehold on chip design, tech, & manufacturing for long enough to stifle innovation from any smaller company trying to crack that market...as consumers, we should all rejoice that some of the VERY few companies with the capabilities to buck the shackles of these guys are doing exactly that.
Go Apple!
Go Google!

 

[melgross]

Not much of a blow to Qualcomm, as Google only sells a few million phones a year, an insignificant number.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I doubt Google is particularly interested in the chips for the Pixel and Chromebook. They want the chip expertise so they can use it to build their own servers for their cloud. They're just using the Pixel and Chromebook as a place to get experience on how to manufacture high-performance low-energy chips.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Imagine where PCs would be if Intel didn't have a stranglehold on the x32 architecture, and any company could make CPUs...

 

[Michael Scrip]

I think it has great promise as the Android market share is huge. It’s all about economies of scale, so the more products Google can put these chips into, the more viable their endeavor.

That is if Google can sell these chips to the many Android OEMs.

We'll have to see if Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, etc start buying these chips for all their Android phones. Those companies represent half of all Android phones sold.

As others have said... it's good to have competition. It would be nice to have another chip manufacturer.

Though it'll be interesting to see how Google, traditionally a software and services (advertising) company, handles it.

 

[BootsWalking]

They will get bored very quickly and drop the project.

Their hardware sales’ volume is nowhere close to justify the enormous R&D for chips.

Not if they plan to use the IP generated by these designs for their cloud computing initiatives as well.

 

[Breaking Good]

While this is certainly interesting, I see it going about as far as Amazon's Fire phone.

Exynos processors are currently lagging behind Qualcomm. I don't see them catching up any time soon.

In fact, I suspect that Samsung's processors use a lot of Qualcomm's technology. Google will most likely be paying royalties to Qualcomm anyway.

The only benefit I see is allowing Google to at least appear to not be last in line. Pixel's are currently released in October where Samsung's Galaxy S series is released in February and uses Qualcomm's latest processor. By the time Google releases their Pixel Qualcomm is already announcing their next chip.

Qualcomm won't provide the chips any sooner than that because the other, larger manufacturers are prioritized.

This may be Google's attempt to jumped to the head of the line or at least appear they are not at the end of the line.
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Not if they plan to use the IP generated by these designs for their cloud computing initiatives as well.

Why would you want to use a low power, mobile processing chip in a server?