Samsung Electronics To Manufacture Google Tensor 2 On 4nm Process

Last Updated on June 1, 2022 by Anu Joy

Last month, Google announced that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will be powered by the next-gen Tensor SoC. While the tech firm didn’t divulge any more details about the upcoming processor, a new report suggests that it will be manufactured by Samsung on a 4nm process.

According to Korean publication Digital Daily, mass production of the second-generation Tensor chip will begin in June. The outlet says that the SoC will be built on a 4nm process, as opposed to the current-gen 5nm Tensor. The switch to 4nm should result in an improvement in performance.

It also talks about the panel level package (PLP) technology which will be used in the post process, “PLP is a packaging technique in which chips cut from a wafer are placed on a rectangular panel. It is possible to minimize the discarded edges, thereby reducing cost and improving productivity”.

At Google I/O 2022, the search giant said that the Pixel 7 will pack a second-gen Tensor chip which will “bring even more helpful, personalized features to photos, videos, security, and speech recognition”. While it didn’t reveal the release date for the Pixel 7 series, we can expect it to launch sometime in October.

The current Tensor processor is equipped with dual Cortex-X1 CPUs. It features ARM cores (A76) built on a 5nm process instead of 7nm, to boost performance. Samsung Electronics manufactured the first-gen Tensor for the Pixel 6 series. It also powers the Pixel 6a, which will be available for pre-order from July.  

Today’s report notes that Samsung also manufactures Waymo’s autonomous driving chips. In the future, it could even design and produce Google server chips.