The Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro are Google's first smartphones with its in-house Tensor chipset. However, the chip is not entirely designed by Google, and the company had a lot of help from Samsung's semiconductor design arm. A new report shows how dependent Google was on Samsung for its first processor.
The folks over at TechInsights have published their detailed examination of the Pixel 6 Pro's 5G radio. The report states that Samsung contributed to the Tensor chip in various ways. In fact, the Linux kernel's device tree file system analysis shows that some blocks of the Tensor chip are shared with Exynos. Moreover, its complete 5G radio solution appears to have been developed by Samsung (System LSI). The South Korean firm made the 5G modem and the antenna for the Pixel 6 series.
TechInsights has published images of Samsung's Shannon A5123 5G modem, Shannon 5511 sub-6GHz FR1 transceiver package, and the Shannon 5710 FR2 mmWave transceiver found inside the Pixel 6 Pro. The Shannon 5710 mmWave transceiver is missing from the non-US models of the Pixel 6 Pro.
This is the first time a major 5G phone with a non-Qualcomm modem has been launched in the US. It is an excellent win for Samsung's System LSI arm (which helped Google design the Tensor chip) and Samsung Foundry (which fabricated the chipset on its 5nm process node).
Samsung also supplied OLED display panels and ISOCELL camera sensors that are used in the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro.
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