Google Developing Own Processor for Chrome OS Laptops and Tablets: Report

Google recently unveiled its own SoC called Tensor for its upcoming Pixel 6 lineup.

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 2 September 2021 12:16 IST

Google Developing Own Processor for Chrome OS Laptops and Tablets: Report

Google’s new chips are reportedly based on the chip blueprints of ARM

Highlights

Google sees in-house chip development as key to their competitiveness
Google is employing talent from the chip industry to build its own silico
Google has reportedly hired chip talent from Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek

Google is reportedly developing its own CPUs for future Chromebooks and also tablets running Chrome OS. The tech giant may roll out the new central processors sometime in 2023. This comes after Google confirmed that it will be using to its own SoC called Tensor for its Pixel lineup starting this year with the Pixel 6 series. The company now looks to continue with the same strategy for its other hardware products. And upcoming Chrome OS devices can be expected to pack Google's in-house SoCs.

A Nikkei Asia report citing sources claims that Google is working on its own central processors for Chrome OS running notebooks and tablets. The tech giant is increasing the efforts to develop its own chips similar to its global rivals like Apple that is pursuing the same strategy and shifting away from Intel CPUs for its MacBook devices. Apple has been using its own processors for its iPhone lineup for over a decade now. The report says that other companies like Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Tesla, Baidu, and Alibaba are all working on building their own semiconductors to power their cloud services and electronic products.

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Google's new chips are reportedly based on the chip blueprints of ARM, a UK-based company whose intellectual property is used in more than 90 percent of smartphones. Google sees in-house chip development key to their competitiveness, the report says. It is also ramping up efforts to build mobile processors for its Pixel smartphones. Google will use its own processors for the first time on the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro expected to launch this fall.

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The report says that Google has asked suppliers for 50 percent more production capacity for the handsets compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019. The Tensor SoC for Pixel phones was unveiled a while ago, and the tech giant is currently employing key talent from the chip industry to build its own silicon TPUs (tensor processing units). It is reported to have hired talent from its key suppliers including Intel, Qualcomm, and MediaTek.

It's Google I/O time this week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, as we discuss Android 12, Wear OS, and more. Later (starting at 27:29), we jump over to Army of the Dead, Zack Snyder's Netflix zombie heist movie. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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