Sorry Samsung, Google could use TSMC for the Pixel 10

Right now, Korean company Samsung is in a battle with Taiwanese company TSMC. Both are major chip fabrication companies, but TSMC has been stealing a ton of Samsung’s customers. According to a new report, it seems that Google could use TSMC for the chip powering the Pixel 10 devices.

Right now, the Pixel 9 isn’t even out of the rumor stage, so it seems odd that we’re covering news about the Pixel 10. However, most of the time, the devices we use were in planning at least a year before launch. Google is already making preparations for its Pixel 10 phones and the chip powering them. We’re sure that the Pixel 9 is already in production and getting ready to ship.

Google could use TSMC for the Pixel 10 phones

This is still early information, so you’ll want to take this news with a grain of salt. We’re looking at more than a year before we start to hear about the next Tensor chip. We expect it to be called the Tensor G5.

Business Korea reports that Google might use TSMC’s 3nm process for its next Tensor chip. Samsung is also working on 3nm technology, but the company’s yield rates sit between 10% and 20% lower than those of TSMC. When fabricating chips, there’s a chance that a number of them fail. It’s natural for all foundries. However, it seems that Samsung’s chips are more likely to fail than TSMC’s.

The fabrication process also has an impact on the overall performance of the chip. We can’t forget the blow to Samsung’s ego that was the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. That chip’s lateral predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was fabricated by Samsung, and phones using that chip experienced overheating and efficiency issues.

The 8 Plus Gen 1 was the same exact chip, but it was fabricated by TSMC. That chip had a palpable performance, heat management, and efficiency gain over the Samsung-fabricated chip.

This is why several companies are no longer using Samsung Foundry. Google has been a holdout, but it seems that even it’s going to convert. Samsung has been working on its fabrication process, and it’s also pushing forward with production on a 2nm process. So, there’s no telling what the future holds for the company.