Tensor G4 benchmarked: Evaluating efficiency on the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL

The Pixel 9 sequence sees the introduction of the Tensor G4, and it is not markedly completely different to final yr. Google is providing Arm’s newest cores which can be clocked marginally increased alongside a brand new Exynos modem, however apart from that, you will not see any main adjustments on this yr’s silicon.

Clearly, meaning the Tensor G4 is basically an identical to the G3 by way of day-to-day efficiency, and that is consistent with my utilization of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Professional XL. The telephones does not have any points in most mundane duties — similar to the Pixel 8 sequence — however push the cameras or launch demanding video games, and you may see the inherent limitations of the Tensor G4.

As an summary, the G4 has a Cortex X4 core clocked at 3.1GHz, three Cortex A720 cores at 2.6GHz, and the same old set of 4 effectivity Cortex A520 cores which can be designed to go as much as 1.92GHz. It has a Mali-G715 GPU that incorporates six cores, and the bottom Pixel 9 comes with 12GB of RAM, with the Professional fashions getting 16GB as commonplace.

Annoyingly, Google determined to go along with UFS 3.1 storage on all variants of the Pixel 9 sequence, so even in case you go for the 256GB or 512GB fashions, you will not get UFS 4.0 storage. This is not an issue proper now, however with these telephones designed to final seven years, the transfer is shortsighted.

With that out of the best way, let’s check out how the Tensor G4-based Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Professional XL scores in opposition to their speedy rivals.

Tensor G4 benchmarks: How does it measure as much as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3?

I used Vivo’s unbelievable X100 Extremely to showcase the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3; it is among the finest telephones I utilized in 2024, and comes with arguably the very best total digital camera package deal round in the present day. Qualcomm did an important job on the whole with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and the chipset has significant effectivity positive factors and affords a sizeable efficiency increase on the identical time.

I am pitting the Pixel 9and Pixel 9 Professional XL in opposition to final yr’s Pixel 8 Professional to focus on variations between the Tensor G4 and G3. 

The change to Arm’s newest choices has allowed the Tensor G4 to ship higher single leads to Geekbench, however there is a clear gulf between the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL on this space although they use the identical silicon. Google tends to set completely different energy limits and thermal constraints on its units, and with the Pixel 9 Professional XL getting a vapor chamber this time, that is probably the primary contributor. The usual Pixel 9 misses out on the vapor chamber, with Google limiting it to the Professional fashions. 

The Tensor G4 continues to be behind the curve with regards to multi-core scores, and any sustained utilization is throttled early. This is not the case with units powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, however on the upside, the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL do not get anyplace as scorching. In truth, they recorded the bottom thermal scores of all units I examined in 2024, and Google clearly made this a precedence with the G4. 

Speaking about priorities, Google nonetheless does not care about gaming, and the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL do not see any significant adjustments on this space. Whereas the Pixel 9 Professional XL had a stability rating of 78.7% in 3DMark’s demanding Metal Nomad Gentle stress check, it had the bottom scores of any flagship. 

Tensor G4 day-to-day efficiency: Higher than earlier than, with a gaming caveat

Whereas there are not any groundbreaking options within the Tensor G4, it has just a few benefits over final yr’s G3. The change to the Exynos 5400 modem is an enormous deal, and it’s noticeable in each day use. My Pixel 8 Professional constantly has points choosing up a mobile sign at house, and the low-power antenna struggles to take care of a dependable connection to the house 5GHz community.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL mitigates this concern; I had no hassle with mobile connectivity within the week I used the machine, and it did a lot better on my house 5GHz community. That mentioned, it nonetheless is not on par with the Snapdragon X75 modem; all Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered units delivered a lot better bandwidth, and had a stronger sign.

Google’s newest telephones are hobbled with regards to taking images, a routine job on most units. Whereas there is not any shutter lag with common pictures, portrait images take a second or two to save lots of to the gallery, and it simply is not doable to take images in fast succession on this mode. Once more, this is not a problem on every other high-end telephone I examined in 2024, and I took hundreds of portrait pictures from the Discover X7 Extremely, Xiaomi 14 Extremely, Vivo X100 Extremely, and the OnePlus 12.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL remains to be restricted with regards to gaming, and if something, it tends to throttle somewhat prior to its predecessor. Which means you do not get constant framerates in demanding titles, and it simply does not measure as much as the Adreno 750 — it is not less than two generations behind.

That mentioned, overheating is not as huge an issue this yr, with the Pixel 9 Professional XL working cooler than the Pixel 8 Professional in the identical titles. The Pixel 9 does not have the identical advantages, and it will get hotter in prolonged gaming classes — however nonetheless nowhere as a lot as earlier generations. It appears to be like like Google set overly aggressive energy limits with the Tensor G4 to forestall overheating, and that comes at the price of secure framerates.

Must you purchase the Pixel 9?

After per week of use, it is clear that Google made just a few welcome tweaks to the {hardware}. Whereas the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Professional XL nonetheless do not measure as much as the likes of the X100 Extremely, they’re higher than earlier years, and there aren’t many annoyances in each day use. The largest concern remains to be round gaming efficiency — these telephones simply aren’t constructed to play visually-intensive video games.

In the event you do not care about that, there is definitely loads to love with the brand new Pixels. The construct high quality is a lot better than earlier generations, and there are first rate effectivity positive factors over the Tensor G3. Most of all, it is the AI options that give the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL a substantial edge over different flagships, and the cameras proceed to be essentially the most constant of any machine.