Google developing own CPUs for Chromebook laptops, says report

Google is developing its own central processors for its notebook and tablet computers, the latest sign that major tech players see in-house chip development as key to their competitiveness, the media reported.

The US internet giant plans to roll out the CPUs for laptops and tablets, which run on the company's Chrome operating system, in around 2023, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia.

According to the report, Google is also ramping up its efforts to build mobile processors for its Pixel smartphones and other devices after announcing it will use in-house processor chips for the first time in its upcoming Pixel 6 series.

 

Google's growing focus on developing its own chips comes as global rivals pursue a similar strategy to differentiate their offerings, the report said.

The new CPUs and the mobile processors that Google is developing are based on the chip blueprints of Arm, the Softbank-controlled UK chip company whose intellectual property is used in more than 90 per cent of the world's mobile devices.

Separately, the company has high hopes for the Pixel 6 range and has asked suppliers to prepare 50 per cent more production capacity for the handsets compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to Nikkei Asia.

Google shipped more than 7 million Pixel phones in 2019, its highest figure ever, but shipped just 3.7 million phones the following year as Covid-19 ravaged the world, according to research company IDC.

According to the report, Google told several suppliers in recent meetings that it sees potential for massive growth opportunities in the global market because it is the only US smartphone maker building handsets using the Android operating system.

--IANS

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