Companies such as Huawei and Apple have been developing their own smartphone chipsets in order to reduce reliance on those supplied by third-parties. According to 9to5Google, it appears that Google may soon be joining the ranks of the aforementioned brands, as it is reported that the firm is manufacturing its own system on chip (SoC) for its upcoming Pixel models.
The publication claims that the tech giant has partnered with Samsung to develop this new mobile processor, which is allegedly codenamed as “Whitechapel.” It also noted that the component carries the model number “GS101,” which it speculates that the letters “GS” is an acronym for “Google Silicon”. The new chipset is believed to be based on Samsung’s Exynos chipset, and is said to be developed with the company’s system large-scale integration (SLSI) division.
Other than that, 9to5Google added that Whitechapel is part of Google’s “Slider” project, which is said to be a “shared platform” for its first SoC. The project is linked to two others codenamed as “Raven” and “Oriole” – believed to be the upcoming Pixel smartphone models that are slated to launch in late 2021. Aside from powering handsets manufactured by the company, the report said that the new Google-Samsung chipset would be featured in upcoming Chromebooks as well.
For those unfamiliar, Google has equipped its flagship phones with Qualcomm developed SoCs since the first Pixel model, with the latest iteration – the Pixel 5 series – featuring the Snapdragon 765G. Whether the first-party Whitechapel chipset is capable of performing on par with its competitors or better, remains to be seen. Provided that this rumour is to be believed, of course.
(Source: 9to5Google)
