The upcoming Google Pixel 6 series will seemingly use quite a few Samsung-made components. We already know that the Korean firm is behind its custom Tensor processor. The device could also use the company’s ISOCELL camera sensors. Now, a new report suggests the Pixel 6 will feature a Samsung 5G modem as well.
Google has already confirmed that the Pixel 6 series will support millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G technology. Separately, Samsung has also revealed that its next-gen 5G modems will support the high-frequency band. It appears the two companies are working together.
According to Reuters, Google is tapping the Korean behemoth to supply the 5G modem for its next-gen flagship. The publication is citing two different sources familiar with the matter. Considering Samsung’s involvement with the Tensor SoC, which could be nothing but a previously rumored Exynos chipset (Exynos 9855), there’s a strong probability of the latest information being true.
In fact, this isn’t the first time we are hearing the Google Pixel 6 will use a Samsung 5G modem. Remember the “Whitechapel” codename for the Tensor chip, the same codename that has also been associated with Samsung’s Exynos 9855 chipset? Well, around that time, it also emerged that the chipset will not use a Qualcomm modem. Instead, it will feature a modem codenamed “Shannon,” which is found in Exynos chips.
Reference to this modem featuring inside the Pixel 6 series emerged again earlier this month. Even the rumored Google foldable could be using this Samsung 5G modem. All this suggests that Google is ditching Qualcomm in favor of Samsung for all its semiconductor needs.
Google is ditching Qualcomm in favor of Samsung
Samsung is one of the only three firms globally currently making 5G modems for smartphones. Qualcomm and MediaTek are the other two. But Qualcomm has a huge lead over its rivals because of its more advanced mmWave 5G technology. So much so that even Samsung itself uses Qualcomm’s 5G modem in its phones in the US, at least until now. And so do every other smartphone maker, including Apple.
But the Korean company has been catching up to its American rival recently. It now winning Google’s trust for the Pixel 6 series is a big hit to the American company. It has reportedly never sold its 5G modem to other firms, so that’s another big win for it.
Hopefully, Samsung’s Exynos 5G modems deliver connectivity and speeds as good as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon counterparts, if not better. We all know how Exynos processors underperformed competing Snapdragon solutions recently.