Pixel phones have often faced criticism for their performance, largely attributed to their aging Tensor chips and Mali GPUs. Despite being marketed as premium devices, the technology powering Google’s smartphones falls behind other flagship mobile systems on a performance and efficiency scale. The Mali GPU included in the Tensor lineup does not match the capabilities of Snapdragon’s Adreno GPU, which is why many gamers tend to avoid Pixel phones. However, Google has been making strides to improve the performance of its Tensor chips through software updates.
By leveraging its deep software expertise, the company has managed to enhance GPU performance with regular driver updates. Pixel phone users on platforms like Reddit have shared their experiences of significant improvements in GPU benchmark scores, particularly in the Vulkan API tests. For instance, the Pixel 7a has seen a remarkable 62% increase in scores on Geekbench 6, while the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 enjoyed boosts of 31% and 32%, respectively. While specific data remains scarce, it is likely that these performance enhancements will positively impact gaming experiences, especially for titles utilizing the Vulkan API.
The updates should also facilitate better performance for various apps and machine learning tasks. The key to this improved performance lies in newer GPU drivers that Google has consistently rolled out with its Android updates. While most manufacturers typically stick with older drivers to avoid potential stability problems, Google frequently updates the GPU driver for its Pixel phones. The December 2023 feature drop included a fresh Mali GPU kernel driver for the Pixel 8, which significantly improved gaming performance.
Additionally, the upcoming Android 16, with its even newer driver, promises to further enhance the capabilities of older Pixel models, helping to narrow the performance gap between Tensor chips and other flagship SoCs.
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