This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
There's hope for the Pixel 11, and that hope is called Tensor G6 | Image by Android Headlines
Ever wished your Pixel phone was as fast and efficient as an iPhone or a Galaxy? There’s hope!
I love Pixel phones. There's something quirky about them that satisfies my nerdy brain. And while in the past Google's flagship smartphones were a niche curiosity, they've now become a serious competitor.
There is, however, one ingredient still missing from the recipe.
The Pixel 11 can finally deliver that not-so-secret ingredient that will make the series a true iPhone and Galaxy rival. What is it then?
Google Tensor silicon is dragging the Pixel down
The Tensor was supposed to give Google autonomy and a competitive edge over Pixel's rivals | Image by Google
Most of you, especially those who've used Pixel phones lately, have already guessed. It's the chipset. Google made the switch to in-house silicon back in 2021 and introduced the Tensor chip to the world.
And while the Pixel 4 XL was equipped with a flagship Snapdragon 855, the Pixel 5 sported a rather modest Snapdragon 765. It was like Google was preparing for the Tensor switch and didn't want a big performance gap from the previous generation.
The first Tensor chip was plagued by plenty of issues, from overheating and throttling to weak cellular connectivity due to the modem inside and poor battery life because of the low efficiency.
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The main reason for this is that Google adopted a different approach with Tensor, focusing on dedicated AI processing in the architecture with the TPU (Tensor Processing Unit). The idea was to bring on-device AI and get ahead of the competition in a smartphone world where "AI" was the current buzzword.
The Google Tensor G5 was supposed to be different
The first chip built by TSMC, yet no big gains | Image by Google
Five years later, AI is still not as important to people as Google predicted, and on-device AI features give way to raw performance and efficiency.
Google hoped that this switch, along with a change in the architecture of the Tensor, would cure all the issues and bridge the performance gap to Google's rivals.
However, despite the switch to TSMC, it seems that the issues from the first generation persisted in the Tensor G5. The G5 still heats up quite a lot and throttles under heavy sustained load, in gaming, for example.
The efficiency is a tad better, but the battery life gains are not as big as expected, and the Pixel 10 lineup still lags behind Apple and Samsung in battery life.
And most importantly, the raw performance is still unimpressive, and there are even lags here and there from time to time, making the Pixel experience rather annoying.
Do you think the Pixel 11 would be able to challenge Samsung and Apple?
The competition is wiping the floor with the Tensor
The competition is doing much better in every area | Image by PhoneArena
Meanwhile, Samsung and Apple are wiping the benchmarks floor with the Tensor, so to speak. The collaboration between Samsung and Qualcomm has brought the "for Galaxy" badge to Snapdragon chipsets, making them even more powerful than their regular counterparts.
The 5G modem in Snapdragon chips is also stable and solid, giving good reception and data speeds. The efficiency is still better than what the Tensor G5 has in store, even though both chips are made by TSMC on a 3nm node.
Apple, on the other hand, has a long history of being the performance champion in smartphones, to the point some chips are used in tablets and laptops. The A-series Apple chips are facing some serious competition nowadays from Qualcomm and MediaTek, but if we compare the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max to the best-performing Pixel - the Pixel 10 Pro XL, the gap is still huge.
The Pixel 11 and the Tensor G6 could change this
The Tensor G6 could change the game | Image by Google
Early leaked benchmarks show the prime core clocked at 4.11 GHz, with four mid cores hitting 3.38 GHz and two efficiency cores reaching 2.65 GHz.
Another positive, tackling the efficiency issue, is that the Tensor G6 might be one of the first chips manufactured on TSMC's 2nm node.
The GPU chip inside the Tensor G6 is also expected to be different. A leaked listing shows a PowerVR C-series CXTP-48-1536 iGPU in place of the DXT-48-1536 inside the Tensor G5, which is expected to result in better graphics scores and better gaming performance.
Finally, the industry experts think that the G6 will switch to a MediaTek modem, a long overdue change that was supposed to happen with the Pixel 10 series. The latter stayed with the Exynos 5400(i), which is a 4 nm chip still plagued by heat issues and inconsistency, especially working in tandem with the Tensor.
Could the Pixel 11 beat its Samsung and Apple rivals?
Could the Pixel 11 elevate Google to new heights and give the Pixel a fighting chance? | Image by Google
Time will tell. It will be difficult, but the right ingredients seem to be in place. If the Pixel 11 series manages to catch up to its immediate Galaxy and iPhone rivals, this would be a huge success and good news for us, the users.
I want my Pixel to be fast and efficient, it already has so many unique features, and I don't want performance and battery life issues to ruin the experience. Are you optimistic about the Pixel 11? Will Google ever catch up with Apple and Samsung?
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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