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The fourth beta of Android 12 launched earlier today, marking the platform’s stability milestone. The goal of this release is to provide developers with a version with finalized APIs and application behaviors so that they can test and update their applications before the stable release. As always, Beta 4 contains several changes not mentioned in Google’s blog post, such as the Android 12 Easter Egg, but it also contains updated versions of several Google apps. An analysis of these updated Google apps reveals new information about the upcoming Pixel 6 series, possibly including the image sensor used by the main camera as well as the modem used by the phone for cellular connectivity.
Pixel 6’s main camera could use Samsung’s 50MP GN1 sensor
A new version of the Google Camera app is preloaded on Pixel phones with the Android 12 Beta 4 update. In a library contained in the APK, the extraordinary GCam modder cstark27 discovered a string called “gn1_wide_p21”, which suggests that the primary “wide-angle” camera for Google’s Pixel 2021 phones (i.e., the Pixel 6 series) will be Samsung’s 50MP ISOCELL GN1 image. sensor.
Credit: cstark27
This high mega-pixel image sensor was announced in the middle of last year and supports Dual Pixel autofocus for faster and more precise focusing. An earlier leak suggested that the main wide-angle camera would have a 50MP sensor, and the channel cstark27 found in the Google Camera app backs that up. Google has used Sony’s IMX363 image sensor for the latest generations of Pixel phones, so the Samsung GN1 is a major upgrade in terms of raw specs. Of course, a good image sensor doesn’t mean much if image processing software isn’t up to the job, but if there’s something Pixel phones are known for, it’s their camera software.
Google could use Samsung’s Exynos 5123 modem
In another system APK, modder cstark27 also discovered a reference to modem “g5123b”. This modem model is “mapped” to multiple devices, although the strings identifying these devices are encrypted. Through clever spoofing and reverse engineering, in the same way that we determined that the Pixel 5 is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G, it is possible to decipher these strings. After that, cstark27 determined that the modem “g5123b” is mapped to 5 devices with the following code names: Oriole, Raven, Passport, Slider and an unknown fifth product. Oriole and Raven are the codenames for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro respectively, while passport is the supposed codename for Google’s foldable Pixel and the cursor is the codename of an unknown Google product.
Oriole, Raven, Passport, “Slider” are 4 out of 5 devices that have a modem referenced as “g5123b”. The most recent Samsung Exynos (“shannon”) modem is the 5123A. I can’t confirm the last one yet.
– cstark27 (@ Cstark_27) August 11, 2021
The other modem model mappings in this APK are for previous devices and their Snapdragon processors, so it’s likely that this “g5123b” string refers to the modem on the Google Tensor chip. Although not confirmed, it is likely that this modem is based on Samsung’s Exynos 5123 modem, the 5G modem used in the Exynos versions of the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 20. This modem supports both frequencies below 6 GHz and 5G mmWave, but it’s unclear whether Google plans to ship the Pixel 6 with this modem worldwide. Samsung typically uses Qualcomm-made SoCs and modems for the flagships they sell in the United States, but there is no suggestion that Google will do the same.
Google last week confirmed that its Pixel 6 smartphones will ship with the company’s internal chip called Google Tensor. Rumors have suggested that this chip was designed in coordination with Samsung’s SLSI division, and a recent report from Nikkei says Samsung will handle production of the chip using its 5nm process technology. A separate report from Galaxy Club Last week, the Google Tensor chip got the internal designation of ‘Exynos 9855’, placing it between the Exynos 9840 (aka the Exynos 2100 in the Galaxy S21 series) and the upcoming Exynos 9925 (which is slated to launch as Exynos 2200 in the Galaxy S22 series). So, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Google using an Exynos modem for its flagship Pixel 6 series, but again, we can’t confirm which modem the phones are using until they launch later this year.
Thanks to PNF Software for providing us with a user license JEB Decompiler, a professional grade reverse engineering tool for Android applications.
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