Source: theburnin.com
Google is in the process of developing its own Pixel and Chromebook processors, reports Axios. The search engine has teamed with Samsung on a project called Whitechapel to make chipsets for its smartphones. The tech giant intends to release a handset powered by its new mobile CPU as soon as 2021, but its redesigned laptops won’t be ready as quickly.
Google’s In-House Processor Plans
Although Google’s Pixels have consistently received strong reviews from critics, they’ve never been bestsellers. 9to5Google reports the firm’s smartphones only make up five percent of the handsets on Verizon’s network. But the Silicon Valley giant seemingly wants to expand its smartphone market share by making a best in class mobile device.
Axios notes Google partnered with Samsung to fabricate 8-core ARM mobile CPUs using the South Korean company’s 5 nm process. The Mountain View, California-based corporation designed it silicon to facilitate its machine learning tools and optimize the functionality of Google Assistant. Notably, Whitechapel is pretty far along in its development; Samsung already delivered working mobile chips to the conglomerate.
Previously, Google sourced processors for its Pixel series from Qualcomm.
If Google’s custom processor project succeeds, it could help the corporation put out a Pixel with broad market appeal. Apple, which develops its CPUs in house, optimized the iPhone’s battery life and operational speed by attuning its hardware with its mobile operating system and applications.
Google’s Recent Interest in Developing its Own Chips
Although news of Google’s chipset production partnership with Samsung is surprising, the company has had an interest in developing its own chips for some time.
The firm developed a chip called the Pixel Neural Core to improve the image processing and voice recognition capability of its Pixel 4 and 4XL handsets. Moreover, the corporation made its first mobile system-on-a-chip to enhance the camera quality and battery life of its Pixel 2 and 3 devices.
Early last year, Google hired engineers who previously worked at Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm to bolster its chipmaking capability.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently covered Google’s efforts to make better machine learning chips utilizing a reinforcement learning algorithm. The company’s experiment resulted in the program finding new and more efficient ways to layout artificial intelligence processors.
While Google generates the majority of its income through advertising sales, its investments in mobile and server component design suggest it’s trying to diversify its revenue streams. As the smartphone and data center chip markets are estimated to reach $1,351.8 billion and $15.6 billion in respective value by 2025, the corporation is pursuing two very lucrative sectors.
