Caitlin Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google plans to release a custom Tensor chip for the Pixel Watch in 2026 with the Pixel Watch 5.
- “NPT” chips use older CPU cores, following the trend of wearable chips that prioritize efficiency over cutting-edge performance.
- Details such as the process node and modem are still unknown, but the chip is expected to offer enhanced smart functionality.
Google’s Pixel Watch series got off to a bit of a rough start. Launched a year later than originally planned, this first-generation smartwatch was powered by a fairly outdated Exynos SoC, which was slower and consumed more power than its competitors at the time. Fortunately, this issue was quickly fixed with the Pixel Watch 2 switching to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 platform. Google has since released another watch using the exact same chip, the Pixel Watch 3. This begs the question, as no new platform from Qualcomm is scheduled to arrive. What plans does Google have for future Pixel watches?
Thanks to a massive leak from Google’s gChips division. Android permissions has viewed a document outlining Google’s plans for a future wearable Tensor chip that will be released alongside the Pixel Watch 5 in 2026.
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Building the future of Pixel wearables
Caitlin Cimino / Android Authority
Unfortunately, the silicon roadmap we looked at from Google contained very basic information, but we can infer a lot from it. The chip’s code name is “NPT,” which is likely an abbreviation for “Newport Beach” in keeping with the California beach theme (for example, the Tensor G5 is “LGA”, or Laguna Beach). The expected release date is 2026 along with Tensor G6, but the document dates it to early 2023, so that could still change.
The only other detail explicitly shown is the core configuration (1x Arm Cortex-A78 + 2x Arm Cortex-A55). The note also states that Google is evaluating RISC-V as a potential alternative, but with support recently removed from the Android kernel, that option seems less likely.
The choice of CPU cores here may seem strange. Both are older, with the Cortex-A55 dating back to 2017. However, both Samsung and Qualcomm (the only two remaining Android wearable SoC makers) are going down the same path of using older cores in modern process nodes (such as Qualcomm’s recent Snapdragon W5) It looks like this is the way forward for wearables. Gen 1 uses the Cortex-A53 core on a relatively new 4 nm node, dating back to 2012. Speaking of which, the NPT configuration is similar to Samsung’s recent Exynos W1000 with 1x Cortex-A78 and 4x Arm Cortex-A55.
Pixel Watch Tensor Chip: What we don’t know
One key thing we don’t know for sure is the process node technology used, but given the context of the chip, it can be predicted. Wearable chips need to be highly efficient, and Google’s Tensor G6, released at the same time as NPT, is built on a 3 nm process node, so this chip could be as well.
Another unknown is the modem. Smartwatch chips typically include on-die modems to reduce power usage, but Google currently doesn’t have one to integrate, as far as we know. So that leaves an interesting question of what it does.
But one thing we know for sure is that Google will use this new chip to make its watches even smarter. Typical wearable SoCs typically don’t have a lot of processing power, making them less versatile, but Google can add application-specific hardware as needed. It will be interesting to see what new experiences this chip will enable.
