Since 2019, we have been hearing rumors about Google developing its own mobile chipset. We have seen few instances of custom-designed chips from Google like the Pixel Visual Core, Titan M Security Chip, and Neural Processing Unit. But they were just co-processors and not an integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC). However, things are about to change as Google has partnered with Samsung to develop an in-house chipset to rival A14 Bionic and Snapdragon 888 in the market. The first-ever Google-designed chipset is called Whitechapel (codenamed GS101) and will launch with the Pixel 6 series this fall. So if you are interested to learn about Google’s Whitechapel chip, you have come to the right place. We will discuss Whitechapel’s specs, benchmarks, and how Google’s upcoming chip compares to other mobile processors in this article.

Here, we have detailed everything about Google’s Whitechapel Chip (GS101), from its CPU core design to GPU, AI, ML, Modem, 5G, and more. You can move to the desired section from the table below.

  • Google Whitechapel: CPU

  • Google Whitechapel: Performance

  • Google Whitechapel:GPU

  • Google Whitechapel:5G Modem

  • Google Whitechapel: AI, ML & Security

  • The Curious Case of Google Whitechapel GS101 & Exynos 1080 5G

  • Google Whitechapel: Specifications

  • Why is Google Developing Its Own Silicon?

  • CPU

Of all the things, the raw horsepower of the CPU is what makes a chipset stand out. So naturally, people are curious about Google Whitechapel’s CPU prowess.

CPU

Google is using some of Samsung’s IP (intellectual property) in SoC design to develop a 5nm chip in its foundry.  As for the speculated cores and numbers, it appears Google Whitechapel will feature an octa-core processor. It will include a single higher frequency A78 core, three A78 cores with reduced frequency, and four A55 cores for power-efficient tasks.

Performance

The performance of Google Whitechapel will be in the mid-tier territory with better battery efficiency, as per recent leaks. Besides, recent leaks suggest that the Google Whitechapel chipset will be equivalent to the Snapdragon 870 in terms of CPU performance. You can check out how the Snapdragon 870 stacks up against last year’s Snapdragon 865 and this year’s flagship Snapdragon 888 chips right here. So the earlier assumption of it being a mid-tier chipset, identical to a Qualcomm 7-series processor, has been ruled out.

Well yes, Whitechapel is a 5nm chip with current performance on PVT units closer to SD870, they are not trying to match SD888. Google’s focus is on ML & so the raw AI performance is matched to that of other leading mobile chips. Plus that Mali GPU is performing good under stress.

GPU

After the CPU cores, let’s talk about Google Whitechapel’s GPU. A recent report by XDA-Developers has confirmed that GS101 will feature the 14-core Mali-G78 GPU, which also powers the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Notably, recent Mali GPUs have become quite powerful in comparison to earlier GPU releases. Particularly, the Mali-G78 GPU, which is based on ARM’s 2nd-gen Valhall architecture, has seen a performance jump of 46% over the last-gen GPU. In tandem, the flagship Mali-G78 GPU has become a potential competitor to the Adreno 660 GPU, which is present on the flagship Snapdragon 888.

5G Modem

The modem is one area where things get a bit tricky. Reports suggest that the Google Whitechapel GS101 chip will feature Samsung’s in-house 5G modem (codenamed Shannon). It supports both mmWave and sub-6GHz bands, and the download speeds can go up to 5.1Gbps.

AI, ML & Security

AI (artificial intelligence) & ML (machine learning) is the domain where Google excels, and it’s one of the few companies that has utilized the massive AI and ML prowess that Qualcomm chips bring to the table. We already know that Qualcomm Snapdragon chips have the best AI and ML performance, and the SD888 can operate at a breakneck pace of 26 trillion operations per second (TOPS).

It’s amazing to see that all of Google’s effort and experience in the custom chip design department over the past few years, be it Pixel Visual Core or Neural Processing Unit, is finally getting a unified platform. The Google Whitechapel chipset will be well-tuned to Google’s requirements, and that’s pretty exciting.

If you look at the speculated specifications of Google Whitechapel and try to find an equivalent Samsung-made chi, then Exynos 1080 5G stands out uncannily.

I am not pressing that GS101 and Exynos 1080 are the same chip. But, if you look at the specs, they bear many similarities and we can’t overlook that. We will have to wait till October to find out what Google is baking in Samsung’s foundry.

Now that you have learned all about the upcoming Google-designed chipset, here’s a quick roundup of its key specifications:

Why is Google Developing Its Own Silicon?

It’s no secret that Google, a search and ad company, has shown interest in developing hardware for the past many years. More so, when Apple is killing the hardware game across all ecosystems. And since Google has entered the smartphone and many other hardware segments, it too wants to control all the bits and pieces, from software to hardware.