Google is reportedly working on a custom Tensor chip for the Pixel Watch 5, which will be released in the market in 2026. After introducing Tensor chips into its Pixel smartphones, the company seems ready to teach the same special chip technology into its wearable devices that will be directed towards higher efficiency and more excellent intelligent features.
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Key Highlights:
- Custom Tensor Chip in Pixel Watch 5: Google is said to introduce a new custom “NPT” chip on its Pixel Watch 5. The chip will be quite unlike standard SoCs and power-optimized, which wearables should be.
- Efficiency Over Performance: Custom “NPT” will feature a core configuration consisting of 1x Arm Cortex-A78 and 2x Arm Cortex-A55 cores. Although older, the advantage here is that it should save much more battery life. The practice of using proven efficient cores is analogous to what industry peers, for example, Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and Samsung Exynos W1000, are doing.
- Evolution of Pixel Watch Series by Google: The Pixel Watch series initially had a few bumps. The first-gen watch was based on a dated Exynos SoC, which resulted in slower performance and less battery life, and Google fixed this with the Pixel Watch 2 by using the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 as it continued with the Pixel Watch 3. There is no new platform from the Qualcomm house, so its custom chip is the next step for the Pixel Watch lineup from Google.
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Google’s Wearable Chip Roadmap
Rumored plans by the gChips division within Google based on leaked documentation indicate the “NPT” chip will be released with the Pixel Watch 5 in 2026 alongside a Tensor G6 processor. Otherwise, not much more is known about the processor, though leaked it reportedly goes under the codename “NPT,” possibly after “Newport Beach,” which makes for a rather fitting choice by Google of their nomenclature following their beach-themed naming convention in California. Although the paper said it would consider the possibility of using RISC-V as a chip architecture, recent updates to the Android kernel may eliminate this possibility.
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The decision to use the older CPU cores for NPT may seem unusual, but it is reasonable in light of the industry’s emphasis on efficiency in wearable technology. The big manufacturers have done the same thing to maximize battery life while keeping performance high.
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What Remains Unclear
Some of the most critical information regarding the NPT chip still needs to be verified, from the process node to the type of modem. Given Google’s expectation that Tensor G6 will be using a 3 nm process node, it is likely that the NPT chip will make use of comparable advanced technology. Integration of modem- This would greatly interest the NPT chip as most wearable chips feature modem integration on-die for power-saving reasons. Google does not currently have an in-house modem. That may be interesting, given how they might deal with this in the Pixel Watch 5.
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Smarter Pixel Watch Capabilities
This could enable Google to come up with application-specific hardware by having a custom chip and improve the intelligent features that it offers. A potential NPT chip can make the Pixel Watch even more potent as there would be capabilities with more complex features. Such could enable Google to bring up some unique performance-optimized features. With this kind of custom Tensor chip, the Pixel Watch can have better strength and be the top-list smartwatch in the market regarding efficiency and innovation.
