Google initially debuted its Titan M security chip back in 2018 with the Pixel 3 before following it up with Titan M2 in its first-gen Tensor launch. Now, as we approach the tenth anniversary of Pixel and the five-year anniversary of that step into custom silicon, Google is rumored to be working on yet another step forward for its security coprocessor.
As reported by Mystic Leaks on Telegram, Google is apparently working on Titan M3 for this year’s Tensor G6, codenamed “Google Epic,” running firmware “longjing.” There’s not much else to go off of here other than these initial internal listings, though this leaked report suggests Google is aiming to compete more directly with Apple’s Secure Enclave. It’s certainly been a while since we’ve seen a fresh Titan M-series coprocessor, and whatever anniversary plans the company has in store for Pixel this year seems to suggest this is as good a time as any for a refresh.
But as for what to expect, all we can really do is speculate using past information. The blog post for Google’s initial Titan launch points to a handful of ways it’s designed to protect your phone, including bootloader validation, lock screen protection through a limited series of login attempts, and the ability to “generate and store” private keys through the then-new StrongBox KeyStore API launched with Android 9. When Google launched the RISC-V-based Titan M2 chip alongside Tensor, it promoted protection against “electromagnetic analysis, voltage glitching, and even laser fault injection.”
Google has certainly seen a handful of Pixel vulnerabilities over the last half-decade, though it’s been able to fix most (if not all) of them through monthly security patches. Whether Titan M3 brings improvements to that front — or, perhaps, goes for more out-there targets like the M2’s laser fault injection protection — remains to be seen. Either way, it’s shaping Tensor G6 up to be an interesting launch, and one that could help the brand during otherwise unsteady times.
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