Google Pixel 8a makes Geekbench debut with nerfed Tensor G3 at the helm

The Pixel 7a was slated to be Google's last "a" branded smartphone. However, a recently unearthed Geekbench listing suggests otherwise. The Pixel 8a is real and being tested at this very moment. It has shown up on the benchmarking platform under the garb of "Google Akita". There is, however, one significant difference between the Pixel 8/Pixel 8 Pro and the Pixel 8a's SoC.

Interestingly, the Pixel 8a scores 1,218 and 3,175 on Geekbench's single and multi-core tests. On the other hand, the Pixel 8 scored 1,186 and 3,809 on the same test. While one can chalk the differences down to both chips being pre-production samples, the Tensor G3 version powering the Pixel 8a is slightly underclocked.

Its prime Cortex-X3 core is clocked at 2.91 GHz (vs 3.02 GHz), 4x Cortex-A715 cores at 2.37 GHz (vs 2.45 GHz) and 4x Cortex-A510 cores at 1.70 Ghz (vs 2.15 GHz). On the GPU side, this Tensor G8 variant sticks with an Arm Mali-G715 GPU, although its exact core count is unspecified.

While it isn't uncommon for Google to use different chips for Pixel phones, the changes are a lot more overt this time with readjusted clock speeds. This could also reflect poorly on the hamstrung Tensor G3's performance, which already is little more than an Exynos 2300 with a fresh coat of paint. Furthermore, the Pixel 8a sample in question could never see the light of day if Google decides to reorganize its smartphone lineup.

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