GoKawiilRita El Khoury / Android Authority
First impressions matter, and Google’s learned that the hard way with its Tensor chipsets. We’re weeks away from the introduction of the company’s sixth-generation custom SoC, and there appear to be more questions than answers. Our recent survey found that users are frustrated and wary of buying a Pixel 11 until it’s clear what the Tensor G6 can do.
I’ve used every Tensor chipset, and my outlook is different from the voters in our poll. The road hasn’t been perfect, and market circumstances have boxed Google in with the upcoming Pixel 11, but it hasn’t been the disaster some make it out to be. Here’s where Google went wrong with Tensor, and what I hope happens in the (very) near future.
Are you done with Google's Tensor chipsets? 21 votes Absolutely, they never performed well enough for me. 33 % I'm willing to wait and see what the Pixel 11 brings. 38 % No, I've been loving my Pixels! 29 %
Google got off to a rough start
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Whenever I write positively about Tensor chipsets, I’m met with a fair amount of backlash. I usually try to ask a couple of questions, and digging a little deeper often reveals the people commenting are disgruntled Pixel 6 and 7 owners, and I get it. Like many others, I got sucked into the fanfare surrounding the Pixel 6. It felt like Google finally had a coherent vision for its smartphones, complete with a custom chipset that would get it across the finish line.
Unfortunately, the reality was far from perfect. The first-generation Tensor constantly overheated, throttling performance and shortening battery life. Subsequent updates dialed it in slightly, and the Pixel 6 recovered, but it was a few months of pain before that happened.
The Tensor G2 in the Pixel 7 series wasn’t much better. It took a bit more to get that chipset to overheat, but it still happened. The phone’s polished aluminum frame often got hot to the touch during use, and I wouldn’t care if battery life didn’t suffer again. Google was off to a poor start, and many buyers wrote off Pixels (and Tensors).
The Google Pixel 8 turned things around
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