This week, we reported exclusively that the next Google Pixel 6 would be the company’s first smartphone running on a custom-designed chipset currently known as “Whitechapel”. The move has important implications for the Pixel line as a whole, but why is Google doing this in the first place? Let’s take a look at the potential pros and cons.
First of all, it is extremely important to note that, now, all of this remains speculation. What we to meet about “Whitechapel” is very limited at this point. What has been reported, however, gives us a better picture.
What we to meet about Whitechapel?
A report of Axios it was the one who first put Whitechapel on the map. That report states that the chip was designed by Google, but, to some extent, had information from Samsung. Apparently, Samsung would also be tasked with producing the chip. When it comes to specs, there’s not much to do other than this being an 8-core ARM design. The original report also mentioned that Whitechapel would have a “dedicated part” designed to improve Google Assistant’s performance specifically in an “always-on” capability.
At the moment, that’s all that to meet about this chip. However, there is much to speculate on.
What does Pixel 6 have to gain from Whitechapel?
The big question about Whitechapel is what the advantage is. After all, Qualcomm Snapdragon chips are used in millions and millions of Android phones every year and they are getting better, especially now that more cost levels are widely available. However, there are some important areas that Google could benefit from with its own chip.
First, there is what the original report mentioned – optimizing the chip for specific tasks. This is an effort that Google’s Pixel smartphones are no stranger to. The Pixel 2 series saw the debut of a Google chip known as “Pixel Visual Core”. This custom chip was designed to accelerate the heavy AI processing of photos taken on the Pixel, as well as enable these processes in third-party applications. The chip was not present in the Pixel 3a, 4a, 5 or 4a 5G and, although it didn’t really break the experience, the processing speed was definitely noticeable. The Pixel 4 and 4 XL introduced an update to this chip, the “Pixel Neural Core” that was said to improve the speed of Google Assistant. Another custom design on Pixel phones is the Titan M, a security chip used to strengthen encryption and store data like biometrics. With a tailor-made chip, Google could, in theory, bring everything of that on a chip.
Google can also benefit from Whitechapel on the Pixel 6 with long-term software support. As it stands today, Pixel phones that work with Qualcomm chips receive only three years of updates. It’s not horrible, but it’s quite disappointing compared to the iPhones, which have six or seven. Much of the reason that Pixels are no longer supported is Qualcomm. Google worked with Qualcomm to bring future chips for up to four years of support, but that still leaves a difficult situation for Android OEMs who can to want three or four years, but it cannot be done reasonably because of Qualcomm’s support schedule.
Another potential the way leaving Qualcomm could help the Pixel is cost. There are many unknowns to say something remotely definitive, but a custom chip it could bring a more affordable cost to Google instead of buying from Qualcomm. This may mean that the Pixel 6 can perform better than the Pixel 5, which used a second layer Snapdragon 765G in contrast to Samsung, OnePlus and other flagships with the Snapdragon 865. If the cost is also low enough , that chip could appear on Google’s cheapest Pixel phones. A potential obstacle, however, could be Google’s scale of production. Pixels do not sell in large quantities, so the costs are, proportionally, probably higher.
What are the potential disadvantages?
There are probably many other advantages to Whitechapel on the Pixel 6, but what about the potential problems?
On the one hand, there are gross performance. Google seems to be working with Samsung on its design, which is a good thing, but Samsung’s Exynos chips themselves are notorious for being well behind their Qualcomm equivalents. Given Qualcomm’s experience, it seems highly unlikely that Google can match Snapdragon in terms of performance. This may be a disadvantage for many, but as mentioned, in a perfect situation, Google could find a compromise that sees underperformance compared to Snapdragon 700 series chips, but keeps costs similar to the Snapdragon 700-series. .
On a similar note, changing the established “normal” can result in compatibility issues with Android apps and more. Again, there are very far away that we don’t know about this chip to even begin to speculate on what these problems might be, but the potential is certainly there.
There is also the elephant in the room. After five generations of Pixel, Google has shown that it may not be as good at hardware. The company’s track record has seen less than stellar quality control and many insects. The Pixel 3 had a long list of hardware problems and Google still had to issue better guarantees after the Pixel 2 launch problems. This is something important to keep in mind, since Google produces its own chips, since is putting a major and additional component of the device further under its control.
Are you excited about Google’s custom chips?
There is so much that we don’t know at this point about Google’s custom chipsets. They can be incredible, they can fail completely. Everything is in the air now. But what’s exciting is the potential. Google is doing something that no other (relevant) Android manufacturer is doing. Samsung makes its own chips, but does not use them worldwide. And Huawei, another Android OEM that has its own chip designs, is falling rapidly.
Qualcomm and MediaTek essentially have a chipset duopoly on Android. Whitechapel on Pixel 6 will not change that, and even if / when Google fully adopts Whitechapel on the rest of the Pixel line, Pixel’s sales figures will not yet change that. But it is the potential that is exciting.
FTC: We use affiliate links for cars that generate revenue. More.
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: