Researchers are turning old Pixel phones into a data center – and they outperform some server hardware - TechSpot
2,000 recycled Pixel phones. One Linux data center. Outperforming server hardware on single-core tasks.
Why it matters
Google researchers are demonstrating that commodity smartphone processors clustered together can deliver competitive compute performance at a fraction of traditional server capex and carbon footprint—a potential blueprint for distributed, sustainable AI infrastructure.
The key facts
5 to knowGoogle researchers clustering 2,000 old Pixel phones into a Linux-based data center
Modern smartphone single-core processors outperform comparable multicore servers
Low-carbon computing platform built from recycled hardware
Positions retired phones as viable compute infrastructure alternative
Relevant to distributed edge computing and sustainable AI infrastructure buildout
Go to the source
Reuters Technologynews.google.com
Publisher excerpt: Researchers are turning old Pixel phones into a data center – and they outperform some server hardware TechSpot A low-carbon computing platform from your retired phones Research at Google Researchers recycle old phones and cluster them into ‘computing platforms’ that operate as a low-cost data…