Google says Tensor G4 isn’t designed for raw power

At the recent Made by Google event, the company unveiled its new lineup of Pixel 9 smartphones. These devices are all powered by the new Tensor G4 chipset, the latest custom hardware from Google. If you were hoping it would be on par or beat the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, that won’t necessarily be the case.

Speaking to the Financial Express in an exclusive interview, Soniya Jobanputra, a member of Google’s Pixel product management team revealed that the company’s approach to the Tensor G4 is different. Instead of opting for raw power and performance, Google sees the Tensor G4 as the brains of their Pixel devices.

Instead of focusing purely on power and performance, Google designed the chipset from a real-world efficiency standpoint. According to Jobanputra, “When we are designing the chip, we’re not designing it for speeds and feats. We’re not designing it to beat some specific benchmark that’s out there. We’re designing it to meet our use cases.”

This seems to be in line with earlier rumors that suggested that the Tensor G4 might not be a huge performance upgrade over its predecessor. It’s an interesting approach from Google and it’s kind of commendable. Obviously having raw power and peak performance are great for marketing, but unless you’re running a bunch of super demanding apps, it’s not necessary.

This isn’t to say the new Pixel 9 phones aren’t powerful, it’s just that comparing it to the competition based purely on benchmarks might not paint the complete picture. We are excited for the Tensor G5, however. It is said to be the first truly custom chipset from Google.