The Pixel 9 chip is not for benchmark obsessives, and we’re not shocked

Google’s Pixel telephones have been powered by semi-custom Tensor processors since 2021, however these chips have by no means actually been a significant risk to rival flagship processors in most benchmarks. Now, a Google government has reportedly claimed that the Tensor G4 within the Pixel 9 sequence isn’t designed for benchmarks.

“Once we are designing the chip, we’re not designing it for speeds and feats. We’re not designing it to beat some particular benchmark that’s on the market. We’re designing it to satisfy our use instances,” Google Pixel product supervisor Soniya Jobanputra instructed the Monetary Categorical.

The chief additionally famous that enhancing app launch speeds have been a precedence with the brand new chip:

We knew that we had a ache level with opening apps. And in order we constructed G4, we actually targeted on, okay, what do we have to do to be sure that expertise is healthier for customers.

Google Tensor: A historical past of AI over benchmarks?

This isn’t a brand new stance from Google, although. Firm representatives have lengthy asserted that the Tensor chips weren’t designed with uncooked horsepower in thoughts. Google Silicon government Monika Gupta famous again in 2022 that the corporate was “comfy” not successful benchmarks as a result of the Tensor chips have been constructed for AI options.

Fellow Google Silicon government Phil Carmack additionally instructed Ars Technica again in 2021 that they opted for 2 large CPU cores within the unique Tensor chip because it was the perfect answer for effectivity. He claimed that one large CPU core — seen in rival chips of the period — was solely helpful for successful single-thread benchmarks. So there’s a transparent historical past of Google dismissing benchmarks as a consideration, subsequently lagging behind rivals on this class.

Nonetheless, Google’s declare that it prioritizes effectivity and AI use instances does deserve nearer scrutiny. For one, homeowners of Tensor-powered Pixels have complained about battery life for years, though the Pixel 8 sequence appeared like a step in the fitting route. Moreover, we’ve seen telephones with non-Tensor chips providing spectacular AI options too, such because the Samsung Galaxy S24 sequence. So that you clearly don’t want a Tensor-powered cellphone if you’d like nifty AI use instances.

There’s additionally proof that the Tensor G4 within the Pixel 9 sequence was imagined to be a extra bold chip. In response to earlier stories, Google initially needed the Pixel 9 chip to be a totally {custom} design manufactured by TSMC as an alternative of long-standing accomplice Samsung. Nonetheless, these identical stories counsel that Google missed a deadline for this bold chip and determined to go for a Tensor G4 chip that was an incremental improve over the Tensor G3. These claims appear to bear out because the Tensor G4 shares loads in frequent with the Tensor G3 (i.e. GPU, media decode blocks, TPU), except for the CPU and modem.