We’re still enjoying the Tensor G4 on the Pixel 9 series, but there’s talk about the Tensor G6 for the Pixel 11 already. And according to the latest report from Android Authority, the Tensor G6 could have a pretty big downgrade. Why? Google wants to fix battery life and the thermals of the Pixel series. Something that they had already done a good job with, for the Pixel 9.
Google is also looking to cut the costs of the Tensor chipset, along with increasing battery life. According to the documents that Android Authority has looked over, the goal for Tensor is to get the target to around $65, to make it viable. Qualcomm’s most recent flagship chips are rumored to cost about $150.
Google’s heard consumers complaints about Tensor
Google is aware of the problems with Tensor, and is looking to solve them. Internally, Google has acknowledged that the number one reason for Pixel returns is overheating. About 28% of returns mention thermals being a problem. They also know that battery life needs to be improved. Stating that “Good battery life attracts user & drives loyalty with higher satisfaction”.
The search giant is looking for ways to improve the situation by reducing the temperature in high-power use cases. Part of this comes by way of the new “Cinematic Rendering Engine” which will reduce the power consumption of video recording with blur by around 40%, which means that it generate considerably less heart.
So what does this mean for Tensor G6? Well, Googleis looking to reduce the die area, without regressing on features compared to the Tensor G5. Currently, the Tensor G5 is about 121 mm2, while the Apple A18 Pro is about 105 mm2, and both are using the same node process.
Tensor G6 is looking to hit that 105 mm2 die area, including 4% area saving from TSMC’s new N3P process node. In order to do this, some sacrifices had to be made, including getting rid of ray tracing and GPU virtualization. Google is also looking to ditch the little cluster on Tensor G6, providing one prime core that’s the ARM Cortex-A930, and then six performance cores that are the ARM Cortex-X730.
It appears that Google is still in the process of actually building this chip, so things could change. After all, the Tensor G4 just came out less than three months ago, and this chip is set for 2026.