When we said Google needs better chips, this isn’t what we had in mind

Google being Google is running a quirky promotional campaign for the Pixel 7 series in Japan. It’s selling potato chips in boxes that look like the back of the Pixel 7 phones. Hey Google, when we said you need to improve your chips, this isn’t what we meant.

The Google chips come in four flavors — Snow Cheese and Obsidian Pepper, Hazel Onion, and Salty Lemon — representing this generation’s Pixel colorways.

The idea behind Google’s promotion is to market its new Tensor G2 chip that’ll power the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. The company calls it the “brain” of the smartphones and notes it’s “faster, more efficient, and safer.”

We hope that bit about improved efficiency is true since the original Tensor chip isn’t very great at it. We noted in our Pixel 6 review that the Tensor chip runs very hot when put under heavy load. This, in turn, makes for poor sustained performance. Even things like GPS navigation and charging can throttle performance due to heating issues. Maybe Google should give away Tensor-branded potato chips that are super hot.

We don’t know much about the Tensor G2 yet, but we hope Google has fixed these problems. Otherwise, the new Google flagships would certainly not be all that and a bag of chips.