Google was scheduled to launch the first fully customized Tensor chip for its Pixel smartphones in 2024, but it has reportedly postponed the plan to 2025 and is said to be planning to commission TSMC to produce the chip. The new chip is expected to be named Tensor G5, to symbolize a change from its previous foundry partnership with Samsung Electronics.
According to Reuters and 9To5Goolge, citing The Information, Google had planned to launch the first fully customizable design chip for Pixel phones in 2024 under the internal code Redondo, replacing the semi-customized chip it is currently developing with Samsung. However, the Redondo missed its trial production deadline of late 2022 after feature reductions and was not handed over to TSMC until 2023, making it impossible to enter mass production before 2024.
Redondo is said to be used as a pilot chip. Google has also decided to continue to work with Samsung on Tensor chip design and foundry in 2024. The launch of a fully custom-designed chip, internally code-named Laguna, will be implemented in 2025. Laguna will likely be branded as "Tensor G5" when it is released to the public, according to the report.
Even though Google will continue to cooperate with Samsung for another year, Google has in fact been replacing more and more chip components originally from Samsung with its own IP as each generation of chips evolves.
In addition, Redondo may not be the only Tensor chip that Google has canceled in the past two years. According to a source who used to be a senior manager of Google's chip business, part of the reason why Google could not get the fully customized Tensor chips to market in time was that most of the Tensor developers were in India, and there were bumps in the division and coordination of work between Google's India and the US sites. There were also internal staff turnover problems within the team.
