Google has just released a bunch of information about the upcoming Pixel 6 smartphone. Perhaps the company wanted to be ahead of the August 11th Samsung event, or maybe it was just trying to keep people interested in months leading up the big fall announcement (and beating additional leaks).We were able to see the first images of the new Android smartphone. This included a massive redesign of the rear camera system. After a few generations of insisting that AI and software were the only grounds for its success, the company has now changed its square design to a large, black bar. This seems to signal an even greater push towards upgraded hardware.Tensor, a custom SoC (system-on-a-chip) that will be available on the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro, is more interesting. This is a significant step by the company as it seeks to stand out in a highly competitive smartphone market, something that the company has struggled with in the past.This means that Qualcomm chips will no longer be used on higher-end systems. Apple is now creating its own silicon. The chips will use the same ARM architecture Qualcomm used to make its ubiquitous Snapdragon chips. Google will continue to rely on San Diego to supply components for its A Series, which is budget-friendly.Tensor is a direct homage to Google's TensorFlow ML which has been the driving force behind many of its projects. Unsurprisingly, the company cites AI/ML as the foundation of the chips placed in the forthcoming phones. Software-based solutions such as computational photography have been a key feature of the Pixel team for years.Our silicon was designed to make Pixel more powerful. Tensor, for example, was designed to make the chip more capable of running Google's computational photography models. This means that users get new features and improvements to the ones they already have.Tensor, which will help improve speech recognition and language learning, will also be used to upgrade the camera system. Although details are still scarce (the full reveal will be made in the fall), today's announcement seems to focus on the future for the Pixel team. These sorts of focuses fit into exactly what Google should be doing in the smartphone market: focusing on its smarts and AI.Google's Pixel team lost key members in May last year. This was a sign of what appeared to be a team transition. According to reports, Rick Osterloh, the hardware head, had harsh words for Osterloh at the time.AI is the future for our innovation work. However, we've encountered computing limitations that have prevented us from pursuing our mission fully, Osterloh wrote today. We set out to build a mobile technology platform that would allow us to deliver our most innovative AI (and machine learning) to Pixel users.
