Google announces Tensor G2 chip at Pixel 7 event

The real news coming out of today's Made by Google event isn't the Pixel 7 or even the Pixel Watch. The low-key star of the show is the new chip powering those devices: its new Tensor G2 processor.

According to Google, machine learning on the new Pixel 7 phones is now 60 percent faster and 20 percent more efficient than its Pixel 6 predecessor thanks to the Tensor G2 chip. The Tensor G2 also lowers power consumption for features like video recordings and transcribing conversations. 

Google's Voice Assistant can figure out what emojis you might want to add in your text message. Credit: Google event / Mashable screenshot

Most of what Google featured at the event were upgrades to new features that were only possible due to the machine learning and AI capabilities provided by the Tensor G2. Google Assistant on the Pixel 7 line, for example, is now more accurate and includes new features like emoji suggestion in text messaging based on the conversation being had. Phone call quality will be enhanced, too, with the removal of unwanted background noise.

Thanks to the Tensor G2, audio message transcriptions will be provided within the message app when the audio file is sent. The Pixel 7 phones can also separate and label people by voice when transcribing conversations with multiple speakers. 

Direct My Call can now give automated message options before they're even spoken. Credit: Google Event / Mashable Screenshot

One standout new upgrade is to the already unique Direct My Call feature released on the Pixel 6 line last year. Direct My Call provides Pixel users with a selectable on-screen list of extensions when calling a phone number with an automated directory. With the Tensor G2-powered Pixel 7 phones, users won't even have to wait for the automated message to read off the options. The Pixel 7 will show all the possible selections right away.

But perhaps the best way to show off what the Tensor G2 can do is with the cameras on the Pixel 7 line. Google really put a focus on the advancements to computational photography and the results show with the Pixel 7 line's Super Res Zoom features. The smartphones can take incredibly detailed high-quality photos from a distance and maintains quality when the user pinches in to expand the photo.

The Pixel 7 line can clear up blurry photos and make them super sharp with its new denoiser feature. The Pixel 7 camera can also fuse ultra-wide camera and main camera photos together in order to create the best quality image. In addition, Pixel 7 users will exclusively be able to use the smartphone's technology to unblur any photo taken with any other camera or smartphone through Google Photos.

The Tensor G2 chip brings high quality photo zoom to the Pixel 7 smartphone. Credit: Google event / Mashable Screenshot

Google also centered equitability when showing what the Tensor G2 makes possible. With 10,000 new photos added to its machine learning dataset, the company claims the Pixel 7 line can better render skin tone in photos, providing better shots of people of color. A new feature called Guided Frame also helps make taking selfies more accessible for blind or vision-impaired users. Google's voice assistant tells the user where to move the Pixel 7 phone in order to center their face in the frame and get the best angle. 

Video gets a big upgrade as well. The Tensor G2 chip brings a cinematic blur in order to give video on the Pixel 7s a movie-like depth of field. There's also active video stabilization, better autofocus, and speech enhancement built-in.

Google debuted its own chipset, the Tensor, in 2021 with the Pixel 6 line of phones. This made a number of the Pixel 6's flagship new features possible due to the phone's machine learning and AI features enabled by the powerful Tensor chip.

Magic Eraser is a perfect example of one of these standout features that was built into the Pixel 6 line. It allows users to remove people or other unwanted objects from their photos. It sounds like Super Res Zoom will potentially be one of those standout features in the new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro…features that can only be brought to Google's line of phones because of its Tensor chipset.

Apple's own A-series chips in its iPhone models and its M1 processors in their desktop and MacBook lines have come to define its newest products as some of the most powerful consumer-level devices on the market.

Google's looking to the Tensor G2-powered Pixel 7 to continue growing its own footprint in the smartphone market.