During the launch of Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7 Pro on October 6, Google also unveiled the Google Tensor G2 chipset. This comes almost a year after they introduced Google Tensor, their first-gen in-house silicon with the Pixel 6 series. According to Google Tensor G2 will facilitate Artificial intelligence powered abilities and machine learning algorithms.
Tensor G2 is supposed to bring significant gains in the Graphing Processing Unit (GPU) department and marginal improvements in CPU performance. But, how well will it perform against Qualcomm Snapdragon 888? And how is it different from its predecessor?
On paper there is not much difference between Tensor and the Tensor G2 as there are not many significant changes that have been made. Google Tensor was built on the same Samsung fabrication process as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and it was the only chipset to feature two Arm Cortex-X1 performs cores that clocked at 2.85GHz. Tensor G2 also has two arm Cortex-X1 but it clocks at 2.80GHz. While Tensor has two Cortex-A76 medium cores clocked at 2.25GHz, Tensor G2 has two Cortex-A78 clocked at 2.35Ghz. Both of them have four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz.
Tensor had an impressively specced GPU with the Arm Mali G78MP20, but there is a big upgrade in the Google Tensor G2 processor in graphics. The GPU used in the new processor is ARM Mali G710 MP07.
According to Google there is also an upgrade in the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) that offers up to 60% faster machine learning use and is up to 20% more efficient. The ISP in Tensor G2 has been upgraded to 10-bit HDR support from the older 8-bit HDR.
Tensor G2 chip is developed on the same Samsung 4nm process node that it used to fab last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. This brings questions on the phone's longevity and heat issues.
Google Tensor G2 CPU is almost identical as you don’t get the newer and improved Cortex-X2, A715, A710, or A510 core, which is quite disappointing. The SD 8+ Gen 1 has the new Cortex-X2 core clocks considerably higher at 3.2GHz. It also has three A710 and four A510 cores, which clock at 2.5GHz and 1.8GHz respectively. Which is comparatively higher than that of Tensor G2.
Comparing the 7-core Mali G710 GPU, it is definitely more power-efficient than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s Adreno 730 GPU. However, due to the lower cores used on the Tensor G2, it can’t compete with Qualcomm. In the GFXBench test10-core Mali G710 GPU scored around 160FPS whereas the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 scored 175FPS. It can be assumed that this is to avoid any kind of heating issues with the Pixel 7 series.
While Tensor G2 performs poorly in GPU and CPU it shines in ISP. Google offers cinematic blur for videos, 2x faster Night Sight photography, and 10-bit HDR support. It also has active stabilization using both hardware and software, along with 4K 60FPS shooting across all the cameras.
While the ISP on the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 offers an 18-bit triple ISP architecture. It can capture 3.2 gigapixels per second and supports 8K HDR recording as well. While both the ISP have plenty of power Google wins here as it is offering more exciting camera features.
During the launch Google said that Tensor G2 will use AI and machine learning to make images more sharper and improve voice assistance. This is all thanks to the new addition of the TPU. Google will be able to offer AI features like speech recognition, translating conversations, voice assistance, Pixel Call Assist, Call Screen, Super Res Zoom, etc. Qualcomm has a powerful 7th-gen AI Engine on the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and it can perform 27 trillion operations per second.
