Leaks related to Google's chip department continue to paint a picture of a future where future Pixel smartphones, and now Pixel smartwatches as well, will be made mostly in-house.

Last week, Android Authority revealed that Google plans to switch from Samsung-made Tensor chips to in-house designed TSMC chips for the Google Pixel 10 and 11. Android Authority has been working with Google's chip Based on further leaks attributed to the department, it claims that the company will do the same for the Pixel Watch 5, which is expected to be released at the same time as the Pixel 11.

The original Google Pixel Watch was launched with the Samsung Exynos 9110 chipset and later switched to the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ processor in the Pixel Watch 2 and now the flagship Pixel Watch 3. The switch was made to the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ processor. This has significantly improved battery efficiency.

Qualcomm's plans for the next generation of smartwatch chipsets are not yet known, but Google's move to its own system-on-chip may not be a problem.

According to Android Authority, according to the roadmap, the codename for the future Tensor chip for smartwatches is “NPT,” which is speculated to stand for Newport Beach. Google is using California beaches as a naming theme, and the codename for next year's Tensor G5 is LGA, meaning Laguna Beach; the NPT should be released in 2026, but the leaked document is apparently from 2023, so things could change.

Google's Tensor chip for smartwatches is said to feature one Arm Cortex-A78 and two Arm-Cortex A55 cores. In contrast, the W5 Gen 1 uses a Cortex A-53 core at the 4nm node; Google's future chips like the Tensor G5 and G6 will likely be manufactured at the 3nm node.

Here we run into an information gap. The big question I have is what Google is tentatively trying to do with the Pixel Watch 4 next year.

If Google is going to make a custom chip for the Pixel Watch 5, then the 4th generation watch is kind of in limbo. Since Qualcomm does not appear to have any plans to update the W5, will Google stick with this platform for a third year? Or will it go back to Samsung and use the Exynos W1000 chip that the Korean company debuted this year in the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra?

The W1000 is an impressively powerful platform and has a similar core setup to the rumored Tensor smartwatch chip. Assuming Samsung does not announce a new chip next year, it could be a good stopgap as Google transitions from an outside chipmaker.