Pixel 11 Pro XL Geekbench appearance gives further reason for concern

The Tensor G6 performs as expected.

Pixel 11 Pro XL Geekbench tensor g6 performance
The upcoming lineup. | Image by Evan Blass
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The Pixel 11 series continues to look like a tough sell. From smaller batteries to reduced RAM on some variants, this year's lineup sounds more like a downgrade than an upgrade. The Tensor G6 chip was expected to be the lone bright spot thanks to its shift to a 2nm node, but that bubble just burst with the Pixel 11 Pro XL's Geekbench listing.

Another step back



The Pixel 11 Pro XL posted a single-core score of 2,112, and a multi-core score of 5,196. However, Geekbench tests are easy to spoof, so the listing doesn't necessarily reflect the device's actual performance.

What do you think of the Pixel 11's Tensor G6 chip?
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Real performance unlikely to be much better



Rumors of Google skipping Arm Cortex X925 cores in favor of the latest Arm C1 clusters were seen as a sign that Pixel performance was finally catching up.

However, Google's design choices mean that the Tensor G6 will be no match for powerful Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Apple chips.

The Tensor G6 reportedly features one Arm C1-Ultra core running at 4.11GHz, four C1-Pro cores clocked at 3.38GHz, and two C1-Pro cores running at 2.65GHz. That's one fewer core than the Tensor G5. It's also not promising that the company didn't use Premium cores at all, which slot between the Ultra and Pro in terms of performance.

The GPU will be upgraded from the DXT-48-1536 to PowerVR CXTP-48-1536. Not a lot is known about this GPU, except that it might offer marginal graphics improvements and 20% greater efficiency.

Comparison



The Pixel 10 Pro XL managed single-core and multi-core scores of 1,876 and 5,102, respectively, on Geekbench 7, so performance has improved marginally. Besides, devices are usually optimized for launch, so the retail Pixel 11 Pro XL will likely do better.

Sure, the Pixel was never built for speed, but fewer gains every year means Google is simply slacking. For comparison, the outgoing iPhone 17 Pro scored 2,865 and 8,475 on the same test. 

Higher price


Despite the lukewarm performance gains, smaller battery capacity, and less RAM, the Pixel 11 series will cost more than the Pixel 10. The in-house Tensor chip was supposed to give an edge to Pixel smartphones, but with each passing generation, Google is proving that it might have been better off with a Snapdragon or MediaTek chip.
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