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Credit: David Imel / Android Authority

It’s been roughly five years since Google first dropped Snapdragon silicon in Pixel phones in favor of its Tensor processors. I think it’s fair to say this move has been a double-edged sword for the company. Sure, there’s been good everyday performance, capable on-device AI, and great camera capabilities. But the transition also brought modem issues, heating problems, and uncompetitive peak performance.

This state of affairs has led enthusiasts to urge Google to return to Snapdragon silicon, and it seems like an intriguing idea at first. But the more I thought about this possibility, the more I realized this probably wouldn’t be a great move for Pixel phones.