Google-Designed Chips In The Works, Reports Say

According to recent reports, Alphabet’s Google might be planning to design its own chips. Amir Efrati of The Information reports that the tech giant spoke with some microchip makers about "developing chips based on Google’s own preferred designs".

“Google representatives put forward designs of chips it was interested in co-developing, including a phone’s main processor”, Efrati said.

The move is expected to bring more uniformity to the much diverse Android phones and would probably make Android mobile OS more competitive. Apple already designs its own Ax chips used in iPhones and iPads.

Google wants various advanced features as noted by Efrati – more sophisticated camera processing, faster photo capture, ability to constantly record the environment, sending images and video to Google for cloud-based analysis. It also wants more onboard processor memory and an improved motion processor like Apple's M9, as reported by VC Post.

However, Efrati opined that convincing chip makers to use designs put forward by Google seems like a "long shot" to people in that industry, Apple Insider reported. 

“With the trend towards vertical integration, especially at Microsoft and Apple, it wouldn’t surprise me if Google developed their own chips, especially for Android productivity tablets to compete with the Surface Pro and iPad Pro”, chip analyst Jim McGregor told Business Insider.

Business Insider also reports a new job listing shows Google is seeking a “multimedia chip architect” who can “lead a chip development effort” and “work with other engineers to take chip to product shipment.” 

“Normally, I wouldn’t read too much into a job posting because often system designers need people with chip-level expertise,” said McGregor.