Google steals the thunder from Qualcomm and Apple! Its Tensor G6 is the world’s first to feature TSMC’s 2nm process.

Fast Technology reported that Google announced today that it will officially release its annual flagship Pixel 11 series on August 12th. The phone will be the first to feature Google’s self-developed Tensor G6 chip.

Surprisingly, Google will become the world’s first smartphone manufacturer to release a chip manufactured using TSMC’s 2nm process, about a month earlier than Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. According to leaks, the Google Tensor G6 will be the first smartphone to use TSMC’s first-generation 2nm N2 process, the same process used in Apple’s A20 series; while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8E6 series and MediaTek Dimensity 9600 series will use TSMC’s N2P process, which is the second-generation 2nm node.

Data shows that N2 is TSMC’s first technology to use gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet transistors. Compared to the N3E process, N2 offers a 10% to 15% performance improvement at the same power consumption, a 25% to 30% reduction in power consumption at the same performance, and a 15% increase in transistor density.

As a performance-enhanced version of N2, N2P can reduce power consumption by 5% to 10% at the same frequency and number of transistors. Both generations of technology are aimed at smartphones and high-performance computing applications.

With the simultaneous improvement in performance and energy efficiency, TSMC’s 2nm foundry fees have also risen sharply. Reports indicate that the price per 2nm wafer has approached $30,000, an increase of approximately 50% to 66% compared to the 3nm process. Coupled with the continued rise in memory prices, mobile phone manufacturers are facing a double cost shock from both chips and memory.

Therefore, as the first manufacturer to adopt TSMC’s 2nm process, the price increase of the Google Pixel 11 series was almost a foregone conclusion. Industry predictions suggest that the price of flagship smartphones with a candybar design is likely to break the 10,000 yuan mark in the second half of this year. The cost pressure brought by the 2nm process upgrade and the surge in memory prices is being fully passed on to consumers.