Google is getting ready to take a page out of Apple’s own book, as it prepares to launch the Pixel 6 with its own chipset that was made in-house.
Now, this would not be the first time that Google designed its own chipset. As it does design its own chips for its servers for Google Cloud. But for smartphones, this would be a first for Google. Apple has been designing its own chipsets for all of its products for nearly a decade. And just moved its own chipsets over to the Mac last year, with great success. And now Google is looking to do the same.
So far, Google has not confirmed its own chipset, which we expect to be under the name “Google Silicon” with a model number of “GS101” – that’s where the “Google Silicon” name comes from. And we also expect it to launch in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro later this year. So here’s everything you need to know about Google Silicon and its first smartphone chipset.
What is Google Silicon?
Google Silicon is actually just a rumored name at this point. We don’t know if that is what the chipset will be called or not. But given the name we’ve seen for the first chipset, it seems likely.
Essentially, it’ll be made up of chipsets that Google makes in-house. And as mentioned already, this would not be the first chipset that Google has made in-house. It has dabbled in smartphone chips with the Pixel Visual Core and the Titan M security module. In addition to making chipsets for its own servers that are used around the world.
While the GS101, which is codenamed “Whitechapel” would be the first smartphone chipset, it likely won’t be the last. And we could see Google making chipsets for other products too. Like the Pixel Buds, Fitbits and even Nest products.
How powerful will the Google Silicon GS101 be?
This is just pure speculation right now, but we expect it to be similar to the Snapdragon 780 chipset. That’s not the latest and greatest silicon from Qualcomm, but Google doesn’t need the latest and greatest. Since Google will be able to control every part of the experience, from the hardware to the software, it can really optimize the Pixel 6 to work with the Google Silicon GS101, and make it even more powerful than you’d expect.
Just take a look at Apple with the iPhone. The iPhone just moved to a six-core chipset last year with the A14 Bionic. Previously it used a quad-core chipset and even stuck with dual-core for a long time. While still outperforming the latest and greatest eight- and even ten-core chipsets from Qualcomm and MediaTek. And that comes down to optimizing the software running on that processor. Which Google can do since it also develops Android, as well as the Pixel experience.
Of course, we won’t know for sure until we have a device in-hand that has the GS101 inside.
According to leaks that we have seen, the GS101 will be a tri-cluster design, with three distinct cores. That’s pretty common in the industry actually. We’re expecting to see two Cortex-A78 cores, two Cortex-A76 cores and four Cortex-A55 cores. The four A55 cores will be used for lighter tasks, and in standby. While the A76 cores will be used for high-intensity tasks, reserving the A78 for the most powerful tasks like gaming.
Then on the GPU side of things, we’re expecting to see an ARM Mali GPU. Nothing special here, but ARM’s GPU’s have been pretty impressive in the past few years.
Sure, it won’t be the most impressive chipset on the market, mostly because it won’t be using the Cortex-X1 cores that the Snapdragon 888 has. But for most users, that’s not necessary. And the GS101 will have plenty of performance for Pixel 6 users. Google is expected to have Samsung manufacture the chipset. Which could be why we’ve seen Google and Samsung working closer together on Samsung’s products in the past year. It’ll be fabricated on a 5nm node.
Don’t forget that Google’s focus is on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, so performance for those will be more important than raw performance. Which is why they are not targeting the Snapdragon 888, but something a bit slower.
GS101 specs
Here are the specs that are currently available for the GS101 or Whitechapel chipset. These are subject to change and won’t be official until the Pixel 6 is announced.
| Process Technology | 5nm FinFET (Samsung) |
| CPU | Octa-core |
| CPU cores | 2x 2.8GHz Cortex-A78 2x 2.6GHz Cortex-A76 4x 2.0GHz Cortex-A55 |
| GPU | 14-core Mali-G78 |
| AI & ML | in-house NPU |
| 5G modem | Samsung’s in-house 5G Modem or Snapdragon X55 5G Modem |
| Additional Chips | Titan M Security Chip (codenamed ‘Dauntless’) Pixel Visual Core Pixel Neural Core |
| Display help | Up to 120Hz full HD+ |
Will it be secure?
Yes.
Google spent years working on the Titan M security module that is in the current Pixel smartphones. So there’s no way they would just leave that out of the Google Silicon GS101 chipset. Once more, we’ve seen evidence of this, in code for the new Pixel 6 devices.
The Titan M security module holds onto your most sensitive information, so it’s less likely to get hacked. It holds stuff like biometric data. And the advantage that Google has over its competitors here is that it can use the same security chip for Chromebooks and Pixel smartphones. And that is likely going to continue with the GS101 chip.
Would this change result in longer updates?
Updates has always been a problem for Android smartphones. Not only how long they are supported, but also how quickly they get updates. That might change with the GS101. Why? Because Google won’t need to wait on Qualcomm to release the binaries for the chipset, to start working on the update. That is one of the biggest reasons that updates take so long on Android. Qualcomm releases the binaries, but they start with their latest chipsets first. And sometimes don’t even release them for the older, lower-end chips. Which is why these $200 phones may not even see a single update. It’s not necessary the OEMs fault (other than for using an old chipset), but Qualcomm or MediaTek’s.
Google currently promises three years of security and OS updates for the Pixel smartphones. Meanwhile, Apple is still updating the iPhone 6S to iOS 15, which came out in 2015. That’s at least six years of updates there. But with the GS101, Google could push updates to five years. In fact that was reported earlier this month to be happening.
That’s yet another advantage of being able to control everything about your phone. Pixel already gets updates on day one, for the most part. So fast updates isn’t a problem for the Pixel. But how long it gets supported is. And we will most likely see much longer-term updates for Pixels starting with the Pixel 6.
What about the camera? Can the GS101 improve the Pixel camera experience even more?
If you’re old enough to remember the Nexus, you probably remember how terrible the cameras were on those phones. That changed with the Pixel in 2016. Making it one of the best smartphone cameras available, and that really took a leap forward with the Pixel 2 in 2017. Now that Google is using its own chipset, that could get even better.
The GS101 does have a dedicated TPU for AI and machine learning, which is what Google relies heavily on for its camera. Along with computational photography. Which could take the camera to the next level.
Not to mention the fact that Google is going with a new sensor for its camera this year. Jumping up to a 50-megapixel main sensor, instead of the same 12-megapixel sensor that it has used for the past four generations.
It’ll most likely come with a 5G modem
Technically, we don’t know if the Pixel 6 will have 5G. But it would be very hard for Google to launch a phone in 2021 without 5G support. Especially if it wants to continue selling on all of the US carriers.
The reason for this is, because we have not heard anything about a 5G modem. Now since Google is using Samsung to manufacture the GS101 silicon, it is likely that it’ll use a 5G modem that Samsung already makes.
This is important because while the modem is usually on the SoC or at least connected to it, it isn’t always manufactured by the same company. For instance, the iPhone 12 has an Apple-made chipset, but a Qualcomm modem on-board.
The bigger question mark is whether it will support mmWave 5G. So far, only those smartphones with Qualcomm chipsets have supported mmWave chipsets. And that even includes the iPhone 12 series. Which is likely due to the same reason why CDMA phones were all Qualcomm-powered, back in the day.
The Pixel 6 will without a doubt have 5G, but the specifics might be a bit interesting this year.
You’ll see the Google Silicon GS101 on the Pixel 6 this fall, most likely
We’ve been hearing for years about Google working on its own chipset, and now it looks like 2021 is the year that we’ll finally see it. Of course, the global chip shortage likely helped Google target 2021 for its release. We have already seen a lot of evidence that it is coming. And this week on Google’s earnings call, Sundar Pichai mentioned their “deep technology investments” which many are taking to mean Google Silicon, starting with the GS101.
Then there are the leaks of the Pixel 6, which show that Google is bringing its A-game to its smartphone hardware finally. Perhaps a turning of the page for its new silicon this year.
It’s fairly certain that we will hear more about this when the Pixel 6 is announced in late September or early October. But we do expect to see its own chipsets used in other products too. Much like Apple currently does.
The post Google Silicon: GS101 Chipset – Everything You Need To Know appeared first on Android Headlines.
Gadget Reviews: mamaktalk.com
Car Reviews: automoview.com
Entertainment News: 38today.com
Gossip News: 38now.com
[Recommended Post] Best natural looking Malaysian Girl - Photo Album
