Google TV’s next chip upgrade is coming

Ben Schoon | Sep 18 2023 - 12:06 pm PT

Most Google TV and Android TV devices are powered by the same series of chips from Amlogic, and now there’s a new option incoming – the Amlogic S905X5.

Amlogic chips power tons of different devices powered by Android TV OS, including Google’s Chromecast lineup. Chromecast with Google TV (4K) uses an Amlogic S905X3, a generation behind the S905X4 which is found in devices from other brands, such as Mecool.

This week, SEI Robotics has started teasing a new reference box that uses the Amlogic S905X5. The box itself brings upgrades such as Dolby Atmos, eARC, variable refresh rate, and more, but the chip itself is the bigger story.

The biggest upgrade may simply be in efficiency, with the chip apparently upgrading to a 6nm manufacturing process, a leap forward from the X4’s 12nm process. While that won’t have the same impact as on a smartphone (battery life would be the biggest overall benefit), the improved efficiency may result in smaller hardware, like Google’s Chromecast dongle, being able to pack more power into a smaller device, and perhaps with fewer issues in regards to heat.

On LinkedIn, SEI says that its reference box sees 50% less power consumption using the new chip.

That same post goes on to mention a Mali-G310 GPU clocked at 1GHz, and a VPU that supports AV1, H.265, VP9, and other major codecs. According to CNX-Software, the new CPU could be using ARM’s updated Cortex-A510 cores which debuted in 2021.

On paper, it really seems like the X5 is going to be a very big update over the current X4 generation.

As for when this new chip will start showing up in new devices, we’re not all that sure. TV devices tend to move at a slower pace when it comes to hardware upgrades. That said, there’s one place where it’d be nice to see this chip. Google seems to be preparing a new Chromecast with Google TV, and given the company’s now three-or-more-year update cycle, getting the latest and greatest from Amlogic would go a long way in ensuring the device is relevant for a few years to come. That said, there’s no evidence that suggests this could be happening, at least not yet.