Google has depended on Samsung for designing and fabricating Tensor chipsets for the past two generations. And rumors are that the company could stick to its South Korean partner for two more generations of Tensor processors, but there are some conflicting reports, too.
According to some early reports, Google's Tensor G3 chipset will be designed in partnership with Samsung's System LSI arm and fabricated using Samsung Foundry's 4nm process. However, starting with the Tensor G4, the company could design its chips entirely in-house and use TSMC's 4nm process node for fabrication. For the Tensor G5, the company could use TSMC's 3nm process.
TSMC's high costs could force Google to stick to Samsung Foundry for Tensor G4 chips
However, some other reports claim that Google wanted to switch to TSMC's 4nm process for the Tensor G4, but the costs were too high for the Pixel maker. So, the company reportedly switched to Samsung Foundry. However, the rumor doesn't go into detail as to which fabrication Google chose for the Tensor G4. Things are unclear now, but Samsung Foundry needs a client to use its 3nm GAA process.
Samsung Foundry has been lagging behind TSMC for a few years now, and its 5nm and 4nm processes have been found to be more power-hungry than TSMC's equivalent process nodes. However, some reports have claimed that Samsung's 3nm GAA (Gate All Around) technology brings massive improvements in power efficiency, but that is yet to be proven. AMD seems to have chosen Samsung Foundry's 4nm process for its next-generation chips.
