Electronic Times obtained information alleging, Google’s senior executives from its US headquarters recently visited TSMC in Taiwan, and discussed the possibility of Pixel series phones using Tensor processors being switched to TSMC for foundry. It also stated that Google and TSMC have discussed the timing of cooperation for at least the next 3 to 5 years.
In the past, the Tensor processors used by Google in its Pixel series of phones were all produced using Samsung's process technology. However, because Samsung's process performance has been criticized for problems such as overheating and poor performance, many consumers hope that Google can switch to cooperating with TSMC to improve the performance of the Tensor processor.
According to information currently obtained by Electronic Times, the Tensor G10 processor equipped in the new Pixel 5 series, which is expected to be launched as early as this fall, will be produced using TSMC's process technology.
However, such news may be unfavorable to Samsung, especially as more and more processor foundry businesses are gradually shifting to TSMC, and Samsung's own advanced process technology has always had yield issues. For example, the Exynos 25 processor originally expected to be used in the Galaxy S2500 series, due to yield issues, Samsung has switched to Qualcomm to provide processors. However, it is still possible that the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7, which are expected to be announced in July, will use the Exynos 7 processor.
