Leak Paints Concerning Picture for Google’s Tensor Processor
I have spent plenty of time arguing that we should give new technology a fair shake before we reach a final judgment, but the grace period for the Tensor experiment is officially over. Five generations in, we have a very clear picture of what Google is actually doing here, and it is becoming increasingly hard to buy into the AI powerhouse narrative. A recent leak from Android Authority has essentially confirmed every cynical suspicion I have had about why Google is so committed to their own silicon. According to internal documents from Google's gChips division, the primary motivation for the upcoming Tensor G6 isn't performance or innovation, but rather a desperate need to hit financial targets that the previous chips have missed.
The report notes that Google is targeting a cost of around $65 for each G6 chip, which is a massive gulf compared to the estimated $150 it costs to buy a flagship Snapdragon. To hit that price point, Google is making some significant hardware downgrades that seem almost unbelievable for a top tier device. For example, the Android Authority article highlights that the G6 will lose the ray tracing and virtualization support that were expected for the G5 because Google is downgrading the GPU to one they originally meant to use on the Tensor G4, but didn’t. Beyond the GPU, Google is also planning to cut the system level cache in half to four megabytes while also dropping a core from the digital signal processor just to save on die area and manufacturing costs.
Internal documents show that Google is fully aware of how much these chips have struggled with basic stability. Overheating is cited as the primary reason for Pixel returns, accounting for twenty eight percent of negative customer feedback. The data also reveals that for early Tensor models, less than 86% of Pixel 6 and 7 users actually made it through a full day on a single charge. It’s unclear how Google intends to amend these issues, but at least they are keenly aware of them.
The Android Authority article attempts to frame this as a different approach where Google builds specific features directly into the chip, but that feels like a very generous interpretation of what is happening. They mention things like 100x zoom and ultra low light video as if these are capabilities that only a custom Google chip could provide. We know that simply isn't true. Snapdragon powered phones have been delivering incredible zoom and low light performance for years without needing to compromise on core specs like cache or GPU features. They just happen to do so on a chip that is far more capable in all areas than Tensor and at a price Google is unwilling to pay.
The reality is that Tensor has become a tool for marketing and profit margins rather than a technical necessity. Google wants the brand recognition that comes with having their own chip, much like Apple, but they aren't willing to pay for the performance that usually comes with that territory. They are squeezing out the most passable performance they can for the lowest possible price. While the average person might not notice a slightly slower export time or a lack of ray tracing in games, it is a tough pill to swallow when you are paying a premium price for a phone that is intentionally being held back to make the corporate balance sheet look better. At this point, the branding is starting to feel less like a badge of honor and more like an albatross that is preventing the Pixel from reaching its true potential.
The final word on Tensor isn't about whether your phone is going to stutter while you're opening Gmail, because it won't. Google does an incredible job of optimizing their software and using every clever engineering trick in the book to mask the hardware gap, making sure the daily experience feels smooth and responsive. This is really a principle issue. It’s hard to ignore the bad taste of paying premium, flagship prices while knowing that Google is doing everything in their power to aggressively cut costs behind the scenes. They are relying on optimization to sell you a device that is objectively less powerful than its competitors, all while charging you essentially the same price as the brands that aren't cutting those same corners. When you buy a Pixel, you’re buying great software, but you’re also buying a hardware package that Google is trying to squeeze every last penny of profit out of—and at a certain point, no amount of software magic can hide that reality.