It's no secret that Google's Tensor chipset is one of the least thermally efficient smartphone chips out there, but what happens if the chip actually overheats and causes the device to burn out and stop working? This is exactly the experience of one Pixel 6 Pro user, who revealed that the device started to have problems after just two years.
On Reddit, a Pixel 6 Pro user with the username "zybernau" shared a picture of the former flagship phone. In the picture, a large rectangular burn mark appeared on the heat sink, indicating that the Tensor has reached a critical temperature. From this point of view, the thermal solution seems adequate, so it is likely that the SoC's thermal inefficiency is causing this to occur. The Pixel 6 Pro also suggests that Google should switch to Qualcomm or any other chip in addition to the one that powers its current-generation phones.
When asked how the Tensor overheated, the owner replied that he only made a 10-minute call, but the overheating problem may have begun to appear before that. The Pixel 6 Pro user did not update whether Google would provide replacement products.
Similar to the Tensor of the Pixel 6 Pro, the performance of the Tensor G3 that powers the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is not satisfactory, because before the official release, the 3DMark Wife stress test results showed that the chipset would hit the temperature wall, resulting in significant performance degradation. These problems may not disappear on TensorG4, as the latter is said to be only a minor upgrade compared to TensorG3.
On TensorG5, we may see some efficiency improvements, as Google is said to be switching to TSMC's advanced process and using its customized CPU and GPU. While these reports do show that Google takes its custom chip division seriously, the plight of Pixel 6 Pro users cannot be ignored and is a wake-up call for other Pixel smartphone owners to watch for signs of overheating.