Google’s Pixel Watch 5 may get a custom Tensor chip, leaving Qualcomm as a supplier. This makes sense since Google also uses Tensor chips for its Pixel smartphones, but interestingly the switch won’t happen until 2026, so the Pixel Watch 4 will likely still use a Qualcomm SoC.
That said, the roadmap document this leak is based on is itself dated early 2023, meaning a lot could have changed from then and until now, keep that in mind.
Google Pixel Watch 3
According to the same source, the CPU of this Tensor chip would have one Cortex-A78 core and two Cortex-A55 cores, while Google is also exploring RISC-V as a possible alternative to Arm. Those CPU cores are definitely old, with the A55 launching in 2017, but this is a bit of a trend in wearables.
Both Samsung and Qualcomm use older cores in their smartwatch chips – the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 has Cortex-A53 cores (launched in 2012), while the Exynos W1000 has one Cortex-A78 and four Cortex-A55 cores, making it the most resembles Google’s intended design. That makes us think this wearable Tensor might just be a custom Samsung chip – in the same way all smartphone Tensor chips have been so far.
What is not known is what process technology this new Tensor chip will use, but it could be 3nm. Another unknown is the modem that will be used – if this is a Samsung design, an Exynos modem would make the most sense (after all, it’s what’s used for Google’s smartphones).