Despite the announcement of the Pixel 7 duo last month, Google is keeping the specifications of the upcoming smartphones secret. Now there are new details on one of the “Pixel 7 Pro” prototypes that could shed light on what to expect from Google’s upcoming Tensor 2 SoC.
- First SoC details of the Tensor 2 SoC were revealed using a Pixel 7 Pro prototype.
- The Tensor 2 apparently has an older CPU design.
- Apart from the SoC, the Pixel 7 Pro could come with a new display panel.
The processor of the pixels should get a slight speed boost
System logs from a Pixel 7 Pro have been dissected, according to a Telegram group called Google News. A user in this group should be in possession of a prototype. The results provide some interesting information about Google’s “Tensor 2” SoC, which should power both models.
Surprisingly, there’s talk of the Tensor 2 using an eight-core (2 + 2 + 4) CPU design, similar to the Tensor 1 in the Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 . In addition, the logs also show that one of the cores is said to be the Cortex-A55. That means the entire chip uses the older ARMv8 architecture and not the newer ARMv9 like the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 or the Snapdragon 8/8+ Gen 1 .
For comparison, the Tensor 1 is also based on the ARMv8, which performs slightly better than Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 865 from 2020, but falls behind last year’s Snapdragon 888.
It is highly unlikely that Google will simply leave the Tensor 2 unchanged from its predecessor. The new chip could get a slight to significant boost from a higher CPU clock frequency and thus be a bit faster than the Tensor 1. In addition, some new software tricks from Android 13 could ensure more efficient processing.
Pixel 7 Pro will come with a new display panel
The Pixel 7 Pro’s display panel type was also spotted in the logs. Accordingly, the AMOLED screen of the Pixel 7 Pro is still manufactured by Samsung. Not many details are given apart from the screen’s new hardware code (S6E3HC4) instead of the one we saw on the Pixel 6 Pro (S6E3HC3). But don’t worry: A lot more material about the Pixel 7 series is sure to leak before the launch event in autumn.
Would using an outdated chipset be a problem for you when buying a smartphone? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
