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Google Pixel 6 Pro fails to shine against the Snapdragon 888 in early benchmark results as Google ramps up its teaser campaign

The Pixel 6 Pro in the flesh, 'Coming Fall 2021'. (Image source: u/ThisGuyRightHer3)
The Pixel 6 Pro in the flesh, 'Coming Fall 2021'. (Image source: u/ThisGuyRightHer3)
Google continues to tease the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, this time in its NYC store. Early benchmark results for the Pixel 6 Pro and its Tensor SoC are not that impressive though, pre-release software notwithstanding.

Google has started showcasing the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro at its NYC store, the sole one that the company has opened to date. Still joined by 'Coming Fall 2021', the pair can be viewed in Google's 'Discovery Boxes', although only from the back. Nonetheless, the images are the only ones so far showing actual Pixel 6 series units.

In the meantime, Mishaal Rahman has shared Pixel 6 Pro benchmark scores on Twitter. For context, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will contain Tensor,  an SoC with two ARM Cortex-X1 cores, two Cortex-A76 cores and four Cortex-A55 cores. The decision behind including Cortex-A76 cores remains a mystery, but Tensor will also feature an ARM Mali-G78 GPU. Currently, the Exynos 2100 and Kirin 9000 utilise the Mali-G78; a 14-core version in the Exynos 2100 and a 24-core version in the Kirin 9000. Leaks have not revealed how many GPU cores Tensor has, though.

According to Rahman, the Pixel 6 Pro scored 95.4 in JetStream 2 and 76.2 in Speedometer. Reputedly, both benchmarks were conducted using Chrome 93 stable. It is worth noting that the Pixel 6 Pro would have achieved these results running pre-release software. Hence, both it and Pixel 6 should perform better on release software.

Incidentally, the Pixel 6 Pro already outscores the Pixel 5 by quite a margin, so the Pixel 6 series should represent a huge generational performance improvement. However, Google must find an additional 6% to make Tensor competitive against the Snapdragon 888, an SoC that Qualcomm will soon replace with the Snapdragon 898. Rahman used the ASUS ZenFone 8 as a comparison, which performed well in our tests compared with other Snapdragon 888-powered smartphones.

Ultimately, we would not recommend making any judgements about the Pixel 6 series or Tensor before independent reviews arrive. Nonetheless, the presence of two Cortex-X1 cores will not necessarily guarantee the Pixel 6 series a performance bump over its competitors, including the Exynos 2100-backed Galaxy S21 series.

(Image source: u/rami1190)
(Image source: u/rami1190)
(Image source: u/ThisGuyRightHer3)
(Image source: u/ThisGuyRightHer3)

Source(s)

@MishaalRahman & r/GooglePixel (1) (2)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 09 > Google Pixel 6 Pro fails to shine against the Snapdragon 888 in early benchmark results as Google ramps up its teaser campaign
Alex Alderson, 2021-09-16 (Update: 2021-09-16)