If you’ve seen our latest Google Pixel 9 exclusive, the phone’s Tensor G4 processor is set to be the smallest change to the series so far. While peak performance has never been a Tensor accolade, there’s little to no upgrade in the chip’s cornerstone AI capabilities either. The Tensor G4 reportedly features exactly the same third-generation TPU, codenamed “rio,” running at the same clock speed as the Tensor G3. The reason is that Google reportedly missed deadlines for a more potent custom chipset, which will now have to wait until the Pixel 10, and had to hastily cobble together an improved Tensor for the Pixel 9 series.
If this holds true, surely the Pixel 8 series should be able to run all of the Pixel 9’s upcoming AI features? Well, the CPU and GPU upgrades appear to be nowhere near big enough to make a meaningful difference to any AI processing, the DSP that runs camera algorithms is the same as last gen, and the identical TPU is the core that binds Google’s on-device AI capabilities together.