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Google might stick a custom Tensor chip in the Pixel Watch 5

Google’s Pixel Watch 5 might get a custom Tensor chip, giving up on Qualcomm as a supplier. This makes sense since Google is also using Tensor chips for its Pixel smartphones, but interestingly the switch will only happen in 2026, so the Pixel Watch 4 will presumably still use a Qualcomm SoC.

That said, the roadmap document that this leak is based on is itself from early 2023, which means a lot could have changed from then and up until now, keep that in mind.

The rumor comes courtesy of Android Authority, which cites leaked documents from Google’s gChips division. According to the leaked plans, the wearable Tensor chip, codenamed NPT, sports a core configuration of an ARM Cortex A78 and two Arm Cortex A55s. These are older CPU cores, but that’s a fairly typical move with wearable processors. Other than that, details are scant and it’s currently unknown which process node technology the planned wearable Tensor chip might have.

Chips aren’t usually as heavy a focus for smartwatches as they are for smartphones. So long as performance is snappy, smartwatch makers tend to focus on ways to prolong battery life without sacrificing smart features. But this is a potentially interesting development given that chip stagnation has historically been a huge obstacle for Android smartwatches.

Both Samsung and Qualcomm use older cores in their smartwatch chips – the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 has Cortex-A53 cores (which launched in 2012), while the Exynos W1000 has one Cortex-A78 and four Cortex-A55, thus being the most similar to Google’s intended design. That makes us think this wearable Tensor might just be a tweaked Samsung chip – in the same way as all of the smartphone Tensor chips so far have been.

What isn’t 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.We’ll have to see how things shake out, hopefully this is a sign that it can keep it going.

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Google Could Bring Quick Settings Tile Categories to your Android 16

Google released Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3 some days ago. It’s not uncommon for QPR betas to contain information about a forthcoming Android release, as Google likes to start working on its software releases pretty early. Similarly, we learned recently that Android 16 could introduce a significantly redesigned Quick Settings panel, which, per recent reporting, could also pick up categories to discover tiles more easily. A follow-up report has revealed that this upcoming Quick Settings revamp could have another big feature addition on the cards — resizable tiles.

To be clear, Quick Settings tiles aren’t resizable by default in the most recent Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3 release, so don’t bother trying to resize them on your Pixel. However, if you enable the in-development Quick Settings panel in Beta 3, then they are resizable. All you have to do to resize them is to tap on any tile while in the editor view and then drag the dot left or right to shrink or expand it. Tiles can be either 1×1 or 2×1 in size, allowing you to fit as little as 8 or as many as 16 tiles in a single page. You can resize any tile, even ones provided by third-party apps, though obviously not every tile will have a useful description when it’s expanded.

Resizing individual Quick Settings tiles will require users to navigate to the editor view via the pencil icon in the bottom right of the panel. From here, just long-press the tile you want to shrink/expand and adjust the size accordingly. 

Rahman warns that since the ability to resize the Quick Settings tiles is still in its infancy, there’s no certainty it will debut with Android 16 next year, as Google may decide to scrap it from the final release. However, the updated Quick Settings panel will probably make the cut, given the amount of work that has gone into it so far.

There’s been plenty of reporting on Android 16 already, including news that Google may release it by the second quarter of 2025.

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Google Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 forecasted to lag behind Apple and Qualcomm

Now that the most important specifications of the Google Tensor G5 and Tensor G6 have been leaked, Google’s internal performance forecasts reveal how the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro will perform in comparison to rivals from Apple, MediaTek and Qualcomm.

Earlier this week, a source revealed documents,that next year’s Tensor G5 and 2026’s Tensor G6 would be dropping a nanometer and be the first completely designed internally by Google. The new TSMC-built 3nm chips should be both faster and more efficient than the 4nm Samsung-manufactured ones in the Pixel 9 series. This finally helps Google’s chip catch up a little to the Apple A18 processor and Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Google apparently expects that the Tensor G5 of the Pixel 10 series and the Tensor G6 of the Pixel 11 series will not be able to keep up with the flagship chips from MediaTek, Qualcomm and Apple at the time of launch, at least as far as performance in Geekbench is concerned. The exact figures should be viewed as very rough guidelines at best, as it is simply too early for benchmark results from prototypes.

The forecast makes sense in view of the leaked specs, as the Google Tensor G5 is said to be equipped with an ARM Cortex-X4 super core, just like the Tensor G4, meaning that single-thread performance will hardly increase. However, since the new chip has five instead of just three performance cores, which are more modern Cortex-A725 instead of Cortex-A720, it is hardly surprising that the multi-thread performance is expected to increase by around 30%.

The Tensor G6 will ultimately do away with efficiency cores altogether and instead combine a new ARM Cortex-X930 super core with six Cortex-A730 performance cores, which should lead to around 15% higher single-thread performance and around 11% stronger multi-core performance compared to the Tensor G5. If this forecast is anywhere near accurate, customers can look forward to a considerable performance upgrade with the Pixel 10, even if Google cannot catch up with the competition.

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7 years of Android updates might become the new norm thanks to Google’s LGRF plan

There has been a quiet shift in the last couple of years with Android devices as new phone updates have been extended. For years, it was risky to keep an Android phone longer than two or three years because it wasn’t guaranteed that it would continue to receive operating system and security updates beyond that.But Google and Samsung are changing that.

Mountain View-based Google was first to officially extend support for its flagships in 2023, announcing that the Pixel 8 series will have seven years of guaranteed Android OS and security updates until October 2030. What was surprising was that Google extended the same support to its mid-range Pixel 8a as well, marking a major change in our expectations of the tech giant.

Samsung followed suit by announcing seven years of OS and security updates for the S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra, with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 gaining the same support.

These changes are part of a long-gestating program created by Google in 2020 called “Google Requirements Freeze” (GRF). That program enables chip makers, like Qualcomm, to support multiple operating system versions on a single SoC, which means that manufacturers do not need to update software for at least three versions of Android.

What is different about LGRF?

LGRF essentially allows the same chipset vendor-side software to be repurposed for seven Android version updates, up from three. This means that a device that launches with Android 15 can potentially receive updates up to Android 22 (if the naming scheme remains consistent) without requiring significant software commitments from the chip vendor’s side.

Under the program, for the first three years, the vendor’s software will remain frozen, though OEMs will need to update the Linux kernel after three years in order to receive Google’s certification, ensuring timely security patches. Qualcomm’s recently-announced Snapdragon 8 Elite is the first chipset under LRGF.

While the program does have obvious benefits, like longer lifespans for a larger subset of devices, it has drawbacks and limitations too. For example, one limitation in place is that OEMs can not ship a device with an Android version that is four updates ahead of its chip’s original vendor software. For example, Snapdragon 8 Elite’s vendor software, designed for Android 15, can not be directly used on a device that is launching with Android 19. This is to prevent manufacturers from shipping devices that would only benefit from three OS updates.