Google Tensor chip is Google’s first in-house System on a Chip (SoC) for smartphones. The chipset has made its first appearance on Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The name Tensor comes from Google’s machine learning chip “Tensor Processing Unit” (or TPU, for short) that’s widely used in data centers.
The Tensor chipset features the new Titan M2 security chip. With Titan M2, Google says that the Pixel 6 will have the most layers of hardware security in any phone. That claim is based on a count of independent hardware security subsystems and components.
Google’s custom chip allegedly matches the performance of Snapdragon 870, according to tipster Max Weinbach. So, we can make a good guess of where the Tensor chip will stand among its rivals.
The main reason, as Google shared unapologetically, is to provide a stable and secure platform to execute artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine learning (ML) tasks on the smartphone itself, without relying on a cloud infrastructure. In fact, the chipset draws its name from Google’s Tensor Processing Units or A.I.-accelerated processors used in its data centers.