The Android Authority has reported that the Tensor G2 for the Google Pixel 7 series, which was rumoured to build on Samsung’s 4nm process, is manufactured on a 5nm process instead of a 4nm one.
The Tensor G2 was said to be manufactured with a 4nm process so that the operating frequency etc., would be higher than first generation Tensor chip.
However, after the confirmation by the Android Authority through interviews and other sources, the media said that the Tensor G2 was found to be manufactured using Samsung’s 5nm process.
Android Authority says that Samsung’s 5nm process has two types: “5LPE” used to manufacture Tensor and improved “5LPP”, but it is unknown which Tensor G2 is manufactured.
Even without Google’s confirmation, there were some hints that 5nm was possible. One piece of evidence was the lack of a significant increase in clock speed. The Tensor G2’s Arm Cortex-X1 processors run at 2.85GHz, a mere 50Hz faster than the original Tensor’s 2.80GHz. With the transition to a new major node, you’d assume a larger spike or a prominent mention of energy efficiency benefits.
Although Google states that all Tensor G2 subsystems have been improved to minimise power consumption for daily workloads, this is not the same as saying that the processor is based on more efficient technology. Google likewise mentions the manufacturing process in its Pixel 7 or Tensor documentation, implying that it has nothing new to brag about.
In any case, given how corporations love to advertise their usage of lower nodes, Google’s terminology makes it quite apparent that the Tensor G2 is not based on what Samsung refers to as 4nm, such as the 4LPE node used in the Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
