The Pixel 6 smartphone will use Google’s own ARM processor
9to5Google reports that the upcoming Google Pixel smartphones, which are expected to launch this fall, including the Pixel 6, will be the first devices based on the search giant’s proprietary GS101 Whitechapel chip. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said last fall that Google plans to expand its hardware investment significantly. He also said that the company has big plans for 2021. Many took this as confirmation that the search giant is developing its own processors.
Rumors that Google was developing chips for smartphones and Chromebooks, codenamed Whitechapel, first surfaced in early 2020. It was reported that Google is working on processors with Samsung. According to documents obtained by 9to5Google, the first devices with Whitechapel chips will be unveiled this fall. Whitechapel is often referred to in documents with the codename Slider, which also appears in the Google Camera app’s code. Experts at 9to5Mac believe the Slider is the common platform on which the Whitechapel chipset will be built. In internal Google documents, the chip in question is referred to as GS101, an acronym for Google Silicon.
Looking at other Slider-related projects, 9to5Google found references to Samsung Exynos. Whitechapel is reportedly being developed in partnership with Samsung Semiconductor. This means that Google’s chips will have several similarities with Exynos chipsets.
The first devices built on the new platform will be smartphones codenamed Raven and Oriole. They are slated to debut as the Pixel 6 and Pixel 5a 5G this fall. Google has not yet confirmed or denied this information.
