Google is testing a MediaTek modem within the Pixel 10 collection

Over the previous month, we’ve seen a whole lot of details about the long run, totally in-house designed Google Tensor chips leak, together with full specs of the Tensor G5 and Tensor G6, a listing of options they could allow, and extra. We went from figuring out principally nothing to having a good suggestion of what the long run Tensor chips and the Pixel handset they’ll energy must supply.

One essential unanswered query, nevertheless, is what modem could be used sooner or later Pixels. All the units utilizing Tensor chips designed in collaboration with Samsung used Exynos modems, presumably as a result of they had been the best to combine, however with Google going totally unbiased, it doesn’t essentially have a motive to proceed that observe.

We lastly received a solution to this query and it’s not what anyone anticipated. Thanks to a supply inside Google, Android Authority has discovered Google’s plans relating to the modem it intends to make use of within the upcoming Pixel 10 collection.

There are at the moment solely three firms with fashionable, 5G-capable modems: Samsung (S.LSI), Qualcomm, and MediaTek. Google didn’t have an excessive amount of selection there, except it wished to construct its personal answer, which even with a premade 5G IP block, like Ceva’s PentaG2, could be dangerous and way more costly.

Before making its resolution, Google evaluated all of the accessible choices, together with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X75 modem, which is identical one utilized in Apple’s iPhone 16 collection. Speaking of Apple, it plans to maneuver away from Qualcomm to its inhouse modems within the coming years as properly. Finally, although, for one motive or one other, Google determined to go along with MediaTek’s (not but launched) T900 modem.

Unfortunately, we all know principally nothing about this new modem, besides that it’s based mostly on MediaTek’s “M85” technology modem IP. For reference, “M70” supported 3GPP Release 15 5G specification, “M80” upgraded to Release 16, so it’s protected to imagine “M85” will assist Release 17 and even newer.

Unfortunately, we don’t even actually know that a lot about MediaTek’s earlier technology T800 modem to make assumptions. While we do have a specs sheet, it doesn’t inform us a lot (e.g., if it’s manufactured on a Samsung or TSMC’s course of node). As far as I can inform no machine has really used it both.

We can’t actually know the way good the T900 will likely be, however I’d cautiously assume that will probably be a minimum of okay. After all, Google is properly conscious that thermals and battery life are a number of the largest points with Tensor-based Pixels, largely on account of their modems, and I doubt they’d let the catastrophe that was the Pixel 6 occur once more.

A MediaTek modem is unquestionably not what most anticipated — or wished. Lots of you’ll most likely even criticize this transfer after studying this text and declare the Pixel 10 a dead-on-arrival product, however I believe it’s approach too early to say something like that. We principally don’t know something particular about this modem and neither do we all know a lot about how Qualcomm’s exterior modems carry out, as the one units utilizing them are iPhones. Not to say that even Samsung, closely criticized by many, managed to launch a comparatively first rate modem — the Exynos Modem 5400 — and because of that, the Pixel 9 collection has a fairly stable battery life.

Ultimately, we’ll have to attend and see how issues look when Google releases the Pixel 10 collection, however I doubt will probably be wherever close to dangerous. Google makes the alternatives it does for a motive, even when it typically doesn’t look like it, and this positively isn’t an exception.