Google’s new Pixel phones features a processor designed in-house

Google is making a bigger bet on smartphones by joining rivals Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. in designing the device’s most critical component in-house: the main processor.

The Alphabet Inc. company said on Monday that its upcoming flagship phones, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, will include new Tensor chips when they go on sale later this year. Google had previously used Qualcomm Inc. processors in all of its Pixel phones since the first models launched in 2016. The new chip is designed to bolster artificial-intelligence technology and improve both speech recognition and the processing of photos and video. The new component will be Google’s first system-on-a-chip -- technology that integrates the device’s key elements. Designing these kinds of processors takes years and is a massive investment, financially and in terms of resources.