Tensor G4 wasn’t designed for speed, says Google Product Manager

As we all know (or should know) by now, Google’s Tensor chipsets aren’t meant to break any benchmark records. It’s not about speed with Tensor but more about designing to meet Google’s use cases for Pixel. Obviously, a big part of that is going to be AI.

According to Soniya Jobanputra, who is a key member of Google’s Pixel product management team, the Tensor G4 was built with a focus on real-world efficiency instead of just raw power. Stating that “When we are designing the chip, we’re not designing it for speeds and feats. We’re not designing it to beat some specific benchmark that’s out there. We’re designing it to meet our use cases,” when talking with Financial Express at Made by Google last week.

Jobanputra stated that one of the primary goals when designing the Tensor G3 was to improve the speed and efficiency of opening apps. Stating that “we knew that we had a pain point with opening apps. And so as we built G4, we really focused on, okay, what do we need to do to make sure that experience is better for users.”

Tensor G4 apparently still overheats and throttles very quickly

According to X user @callmeshazzam, who put the Pixel 9 Pro XL through a stress test, the Tensor G4 is throttling to 50% barely two minutes into the test. Obviously, this isn’t really proof of a problem with performance, as tests like these are designed to push the device and its chipset to the absolute limit. Something you’ll never see in your day-to-day usage of the device.

But, we do need to keep in mind that overheating has been a problem for Pixel since the launch of Tensor back with the Pixel 6 in 2021. It has gotten better each generation, but will likely remain an issue. Remember, this is essentially a rebranded Exynos chipset.