The Pixel 6, particularly the Pixel 6 Pro, has definitely piqued the interest of smartphone users on the Android side. More than just passing interest, too:
The Pixel 6, particularly the Pixel 6 Pro, has definitely piqued the interest of smartphone users on the Android side. More than just passing interest, too: Google has implied that high demand for the phones is causing shipment delays and supply problems. But, while Google is undoubtedly pleased by that turnout, its primary interest in the Pixel 6 is undoubtedly the shiny new processor that is the phone’s beating heart. While the Tensor chipset might sound like an unnecessary diversion for Google, it could very well drive how Pixel phones are developed moving forward. Even, to some extent, how Android itself could change in the future. Google was never lacking in choice when it came to mobile processors. As demonstrated with the Pixel phones since 2016, Google could have opted to go with the high-end Snapdragon 8 series, the mid-range Snapdragon 7 line, or even MediaTek’s innumerable Dimensity 5G chipsets. Designing its own processor, however, was more than just a show of technical prowess. It was a demonstration of a new way for phones and mobile operating systems to handle tasks, especially the heavier ones. Unlike the common tri-cluster design that’s being pushed by ARM and used by the likes of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and Samsung Exynos 2100, Google opted to give the Tensor two “super” Cortex-X1 cores instead of one. It challenged the now-common convention of utilizing the “big” Cortex-A76 cores – which are a generation old, as if to prove a point – to the majority of the phone’s workload, splitting it instead between the two Cortex-X1s. Google’s argument there is that having short bursts of activity from these two cores is actually more efficient, compared to utilizing all three Cortex-A76 cores at full load for a slightly longer period of time.
