The Pixel 9 Tensor G4 chip may use Samsung's 4nm process
What you need to know
A report from a South Korean publication states Google has contacted Samsung Electronics so the company can use its 4nm process on the Tensor G4 chip.
Google's next chip might use Samsung's new 4nm third-generation SF4P process, a slight upgrade over the Tensor G3's SF4 process.
The Tensor G4 chip was previously rumored to only offer minimal upgrades for the Pixel 9 series after the original "Redondo" chip was scrapped.
Google is looking to make some necessary moves regarding the SoC for next year's Pixel 9 series.
As reported by Maekyung, a South Korean publication, Google has apparently put in an order to Samsung Electronics to use its new 4nm third-generation SF4P process (via 9to5Google). This iteration should provide the Tensor G4 with some slight upgrades over the Tensor G3 (packed into the Pixel 8 series), which used the SF4 process.
The upgrades Samsung has been tapped to use for Google's new chip is the same that it's weaved onto the latest Exynos 2400 SoC. During its announcement, Samsung stated the new process for the chip showed a "1.7x increase in CPU performance and a remarkable 14.7x boost in AI performance."
The company is interested in using the chip in some Galaxy S24 devices (maybe for Europe) despite it running slower than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
More importantly, Google leaning on Samsung's shoulder here isn't too surprising as the company was rumored to bring only minor upgrades to the Tensor G4 chip after all. The chip will allegedly utilize the "Ripcurrent Pro" development board, which is a slightly updated version of what the Pixel 8 series has to work with.
Furthering this is the possibility of its codename, "Zuma Pro," as the Tensor G3 was named "Zuma."
The reasoning behind this is due to Google's delay of its "Redondo" chip project, which was originally planned for the Pixel 9 series. Google was planning on moving away from Samsung in favor of TSMC for the Tensor G4 chip, and it likely would've brought in more notable changes if not for its American and Indian teams falling apart.
This is all, of course, a part of Google's endgame plans of becoming a true in-house developer of its own chipset. The company is apparently looking to have full control over the development of its Tensor chip by 2025 for project "Laguna." This is shaping up to arrive as the Tensor G5, built on a 3nm process.
