After many years of the same handful of companies
making the processors in our computers and phones, we're finally seeing some major changes
in rapid succession. Amazon rolled out servers based on their own
Graviton processors. Apple, of course, announced their groundbreaking
Apple Silicon for Macs and iDevices designed entirely in-house.
And now Google has entered the fray with its new Tensor processors.
And although it looks like they'll be manufactured by Samsung, Google actually had a major role
in designing the chip. They had their fingers in there.
But unlike Google's Tensor Processing Unit, which is an AI-focused card designed for servers,
Tensor is a mobile-focused system on a chip, or SOC,
meaning it combines a CPU and other computing elements, such as RAM, a modem, and audio processing,
together for better efficiency. Chips like these are the mainstays in modern smartphones,
but only a few companies design their own. Apple, with their A-Series, is one example,
while the majority of Android-powered gadgets use off-the-shelf SOCs from MediaTek or Qualcomm,
with Samsung's in-house Exynos chips being a notable exception.
Even Google's own Pixel lineup has used Qualcomm chips until now,
but the end is near. And going forward, they'll be featuring Tensor chips.
But what is a Tensor chip and why exactly is Google moving chip design in-house
when it might be easier just to outsource it? Well, when there's an app for that
it was a popular catchphrase 10 years ago.
Oh no. I don't think most of the people using it anticipated
how much we would come to expect from our phones. Everything from DSLR look-alike photos
to high-fidelity gaming to instant AR-powered translation.
Is this the future? But expect all of these things we do.
And as the software that enables these features becomes more and more complex,
some of the familiar hardware inside our phones hasn't kept up.
So instead of using more general-purpose processors from an outside company, Google developed Tensor
so the hardware in its Pixel devices would be a perfect fit for Android, in their words.
Which, of course, Google also develops. Now, although we don't have tons of Tensor specifications
to throw at you right now, it's pretty clear that much of Tensor's silicon
is going to be dedicated towards image processing, which isn't too surprising considering the Pixel lineup
has long featured strong camera performance as a selling point.
And because modern phones rely heavily on AI to make its images look good,
especially important because the sensors inside mobile cameras aren't all that large.
One of Google's primary focuses for Tensor is for it to deliver speedy performance
with AI-intensive tasks, such as improving grainy or blurry nighttime photos.
The enhanced AI capabilities of Tensor can take images from the multiple lenses on Pixel
and run several different AI algorithms at once
to improve picture quality and sharpness, even in tough situations, including fast motion.
Or when there's so much light, the picture is in danger of being blown out.
I was born in the light. The emphasis on AI should also help with voice input.
This means your phone should be able to better tell the difference between which word is a command
versus which word is a part of your message, provide better auto-generated captions
if you're watching a video in a foreign language, and deliver better experiences with apps
that use any form of AI, such as those that detect objects.
This also means that smartphones with a Tensor chip won't have to rely as much on cloud AI processing,
freeing up bandwidth, and possibly allowing some apps to function without needing a strong connection to the cloud.
Because you don't need Google to see everything you're doing. But how long will you need to wait to get your hands on it?
Well, Google doesn't wanna just sit on this thing forever, especially as it's already behind Apple
in terms of vertically integrating SOCs into its own phones.
And the Pixel 6, which will be the first device to feature the Tensor chip,
should be available in fall 2021. Google has left open the possibility
it'll show up in other devices at some point, but let's see how well their Tensor-based phones
take off first. If they do well, maybe we'll see Google's stores
popping up at malls, where everything is painted white.
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