What you need to know
- Google is apparently building a new team in San Diego to help with the Camera ISP design for custom Tensor chips.
- A larger team should allow Google to deliver an even more impressive camera experience on future Pixel phones.
- Google's second-generation Tensor chipset is expected to be announced sometime later this year.
Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are two of the best Android phones on the market when it comes to camera performance. The 50MP main sensor can capture excellent photos in almost any lighting condition and even when your subject is in motion. It now looks like Google wants to further improve this competitiveness by creating a new team for camera ISP design in San Diego.
Looks like @madebygoogle is building a team in #SanDiego for camera-facing parts of the Tensor SoC. I wonder where they may be trying to hire from... pic.twitter.com/Z1fkeS1tLJLooks like @madebygoogle is building a team in #SanDiego for camera-facing parts of the Tensor SoC. I wonder where they may be trying to hire from... pic.twitter.com/Z1fkeS1tLJ— Anshel Sag (@anshelsag) January 27, 2022January 27, 2022
As you can see in the post by Google senior director Mike Coulter on LinkedIn, the company is looking to fill multiple full-time roles in Camera ISP design and verification for a new San Diego team. Before joining Google as senior director of Multimedia Architecture, Coulter spent over four years at Qualcomm as vice president of Engineering.
As many of you might be aware, Qualcomm is headquartered in San Diego. Quite clearly, it appears that Google is hoping to poach some engineers from Qualcomm to beef up its Tensor team.
Google's first-generation Tensor chip powers several computational photography features on the Pixel 6 phones, including Motion Mode. The ISP also features custom image processor blocks for Auto-Exposure, Auto-White, Auto-Focus, and temporal noise reduction.
The company's second-generation Tensor chipset is said to be codenamed "Cloudripper" and could be announced sometime in the second half of the year. It is expected to power the Pixel 7 series phones, which will probably be launched towards the end of the third quarter. Besides faster performance, the chipset is likely to offer improved AI capabilities as well.
Google Pixel 6
Google's Pixel 6 is a fantastic value flagship that offers a best-in-class camera and a flashy design. You also get smooth performance and a great software experience.
