Google Pixel Watch 5 might be getting a custom Tensor chip

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Credit: Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority

• Google plans to release a custom Tensor chip for Pixel Watches in 2026 alongside the Pixel Watch 5.
• The “NPT” chip will use older CPU cores, following a trend in wearable chips prioritizing efficiency over cutting-edge performance.
• Details like the process node and modem are still unclear, but the chip is expected to enhance smart features.

Google’s Pixel Watch series had a bit of a rough start. Having launched a year later than originally planned, the first-generation smartwatch had a heavily outdated Exynos SoC, which was slow and power-hungry compared to its competition at the time. Fortunately, that was quickly amended by switching to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 platform in Pixel Watch 2. Since then, Google released another watch — the Pixel Watch 3 — using exactly the same chip. With no new platform from Qualcomm in sight, this begs a question — what’s Google’s plan for the future Pixel watches?

Thanks to a massive leak from Google’s gChips division, Android Authority has viewed documents that describe Google’s plans for a future wearable Tensor chip to be released in 2026, alongside the Pixel Watch 5.




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