Hi guys, let’s discuss the Google Tensor G4. The Tensor G4 is Google’s latest SoC that is meant to power the latest Google Pixel 9 series flagships.
Google had in the past always relied on Qualcomm Snapdragon for SoCs to power their smartphones. The Pixel 1 to Pixel 5 are all powered by Snapdragon SoCs. For those who remember, this salient point is why we were/are able to enjoy GCam (Google’s camera app) on other Snapdragon phones.
The only other non-snapdragon phone that enjoyed this privilege is the Redmi Note 8 Pro with the MediaTek Helio G90T.
Background
This changed in 2021 when Google decided that they wanted to use their own SoC that aligned more with their vision of enhanced mobile photography and AI. Thus the Tensor series was born. The Google Tensor SoC is actually named after the Tensor AI TPU chip that is onboard the SoC.
Google made it quite clear from the off that they weren’t building a performance beast. Their targets were photography and AI. Thus CPU power was mostly going to be dedicated towards computing those tasks.
Google’s plan was to become the Apple of the Android world. They wanted to control:
- The software
- The hardware
- The services and add-ons (ecosystem)
in the very same way that Apple does.
However there was an issue. Google is a software company not a hardware one. Obviously, Qualcomm weren’t going to help them as that would be self sabotage. So Google turned to Samsung. Google and Samsung signed a 4-year MoU in which Samsung will help Google make SoCs for their (Google) flagships.
The SoCs from Samsung have been hit or miss mostly and Google have made their own plans to do their own SoCs. However they fell behind schedule and have had to rely on Samsung again. So yup this one is another Samsung made Tensor.
Whatever Google is cooking in house is going to have to wait till next year.
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Google Tensor G4 key specs
So what does Google have in store for us?
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| CPU cores |
|
| GPU | Mali-G715 MP7 |
| Process | 4nm Samsung LPP+ |
| ISA | ARMv9.2-A |
| Benchmarks |
|
| RAM | LPDDR5X (4200 MHz) |
| Storage | UFS 3.1, UFS 4.0 |
| ISP | Integrated Tensor ISP |
| NPU | Google Tensor |
| Camera | 200MP |
| Video | 8K at 30FPS, 4K at 120FPS |
| Network | Exynos 5400 5G Modem, LTE Cat 18, Sub-6GHz & mmWave 5G |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| WiFi | WiFi 7 |
| Display | 3840 x 2400p |
Performance
After 3 years of staying a generation behind, Google have finally decided to use the latest Cortex X4 prime CPU core (3.1GHz) for peak performance. For high performance tasks, there are 3 Cortex A720 CPU cores and finally there are 4 Cortex A520 CPUs for light tasks and battery efficiency. This setup is an ARMv9 setup and it is built on a 4nm Samsung process.
This set up is very powerful, definitely high-end but not exactly Flagship. In fact, it is on par with the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, the successor of the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 SoC when it comes to performance.
If you must know, the Dimensity 9300+ and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 have crossed the 2 million points mark on AnTuTu and the upcoming Dimensity 9400 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will definitely increase that gap. Even Samsung’s own Exynos 2400 easily hits 1.7M on AnTuTu and it’s not even considered as a serious contender.
To add to this matter, the Tensor G4 has a throttling problem. A guy on Twitter subjected the Pixel 9XL to a stress test and the performance fell after 4 mins before recovering to around 60% of original performance.
This is not good news for those looking to buy this for gaming or anything heavy like that. Pixel phones are not for gaming. They have great performance, yes but under heavy and prolonged loads, they are likely to disappoint you. There’s also the issue of thermal management as well that they’ll need to look into.
Our illiterate tech YouTubers have been spreading this misinformation that 6nm SoCs do not heat because they’re promoting the Helio G99 powered Itel RS4.
Me and my 4nm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 are laughing at them whilst playing Warzone with a cooling fan. They’ll learn sha.
Graphics and Gaming
The graphics is handled by the Mali G715 MP7. It is a high end GPU from ARM that is one step below the flagship Mali G720 series. It’s not the best but it is a very good performer. Remember Mali GPUs aren’t really a developer’s bread and butter. So like I said earlier, if you buy for extreme high end gaming, e.g. Warzone, Fortnite etc. you may be disappointed.
It’ll also struggle with graphically tasking emulators like Yuzu, Winlator or Mobox. However, it’ll easily take care of PS2, PS1, Sega, Wii U emulators and most native Android titles.
RAM and Storage
The Tensor G4 has support for the cutting edge LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0. all of which are at the bleeding edge of the latest tech. All blinding fast as well.
Multimedia and AI
Now to an area where the Tensor G4 actually excels at, multimedia and AI.
For photography, Google didn’t explicitly state the supported camera resolution but most high-end SoCs support a camera resolution of 200MP these days. For video, it has support for 8K, 4K and 1080p videos.
There’s also the G4 Tensor TPU on board that works with the cameras as well as the software to make the smartphone truly smart. AI is the new buzzword now so these are the selling points of this phone.
It also supports displays of up to 2400p as well. The Pixel 9 powered by the Google Tensor G4 is a bonafide media power house.
Connectivity
The G4 is armed with the Exynos 5400 5G modem which supports all of the usual connectivity options. From 2G to 5G, Bluetooth 5.3 and WiFi 7.
Conclusion
The Tensor G4 is the same SoC as last year’s Tensor G3. Both of which are made by Samsung. The main difference is that the CPUs were upgraded, the GPU (same as the old one) is overclocked, and the Modem is updated.
Google has let it slip that next year’s Tensor G5 is going to be built in their own image and would be done on a 3nm TSMC process.
It remains to be seen if they’ll keep up with this timeline or if Samsung will have to come bail them out as usual.
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