Google can’t stop singing praises for the custom-built Tensor chip that powers the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro and although it’s not the fastest chip around, it has performed pretty well on benchmarks. Naturally, the company is already working on a successor.
Mishaal Rahman has found evidence in Android Git repositories that the next Tensor chip, which will supposedly underpin the Pixel 7, is known as “GS201.”
This has been backed up by 9to5Google. While playing around with Pixel 6 apps, the outlet found references to a new codename, “Cloudripper,” and believes that it’s the name for Tensor’s successor’s developer board. That’s all the information available on the GS201 currently.
Cloudripper sounds similar to Slider, the shared platform for Google’s first chip. For reference, the Tensor was referred to as “GS101” internally.
Will the Pixel 6a be powered by the Tensor?
Rahmaan also stumbled upon the codename “Whitefin.” Code snippets in Android 12 Beta had earlier hinted that Google was working on Pixel devices codenamed “Whitefin,” “Pipit,” and “Bluejay.” Google has traditionally used fish-based names for its devices.
The company has apparently adopted bird-related codenames now to reflect the shift from Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs to home-brewed chips. That’s why it was being assumed that Whitefin could be a Snapdragon-based device. Another theory was that it could be a test phone.
Rahmaan now reports that “Whitefin” has some specs in common with the Pixel 5 and it has the Tensor chip under the hood. This appears to imply that it’s the Pixel 6a, but there is no credible evidence to support this.
In any case, it’s too soon to talk about the next Pixel smartphones and for now, Google is struggling to meet the demand for its newest flagship phones, which seems to suggest that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be amongst the top phones of 2021.
