Google to Launch Pixel 11 Series on August 12, First to Feature TSMC's 2nm Process with In-House Tensor G6 Chip

Google announced on Tuesday (July 7) that its annual flagship smartphone, the Pixel 11 series, will officially launch on August 12. The biggest highlight is the debut of its in-house Tensor G6 chip, making Google the first smartphone brand globally to adopt TSMC’s first-generation 2-nanometer (N2) process—approximately one month ahead of Apple’s iPhone 17 series (featuring the A20 chip), Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600, all of which will use the N2P second-generation 2nm process.

The TSMC N2 process used in the Tensor G6 is the company’s first to implement Gate-All-Around (GAA) nanosheet transistors. Compared to the current N3E process, it offers a 10–15% performance improvement at the same power consumption, a 25–30% reduction in power consumption at the same performance level, and a 15% increase in transistor density. N2P is an enhanced version of N2, capable of reducing power consumption by an additional 5–10% at the same frequency, and will be used for subsequent flagship SoCs.

Alongside the advancement in process technology comes a surge in wafer foundry pricing. The cost of a single 2nm wafer is approaching $30,000—up 50–66% from the 3nm process. Combined with the continued rise in DRAM and NAND Flash memory prices, smartphone manufacturers are facing dual cost pressures from chips and memory.

Industry expectations are that the Pixel 11 series will almost certainly see a price increase, as the cost pressures from the 2nm process and soaring memory prices are being passed on to consumers.

Analysts note that while Google’s early adoption of the 2nm process is symbolically significant, Pixel series shipments are far lower than those of the iPhone and major Android flagship devices. As a result, TSMC’s initial N2 production capacity will still be prioritized for Apple and high-end Android players. The actual performance and thermal management of the Tensor G6 chip will need to be evaluated once real devices are released.