Google will let Samsung supply 5G baseband for its next-generation Pixel flagship smartphone. In the US market dominated by Qualcomm, this will be Samsung’s first victory. Google said earlier this month that it had designed its own processor chips for its Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro high-end mobile phones, thus ending its complete dependence on Qualcomm.
Nikkei Asia said Samsung will OEM Google’s own chips. However, Qualcomm will still supply chips for the low-end Pixel 5A. Samsung will also provide 5G baseband technology for the Pixel 6 series of mobile phones.
Samsung’s move is crucial because Samsung is one of only three companies that can produce 5G basebands. The other two are Qualcomm and MediaTek. Samsung’s flagship phones for Asia and Europe use its own Exynos baseband technology, but the US version has always relied on Qualcomm baseband.
