We’ll start with the CPU; the third revision of Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU cores built on the Arm architecture. Qualcomm cranked the Prime core peak clock speeds up to 4.6GHz, from an already speedy 4.32GHz with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, while the Performance cores can hit 3.62GHz. Combined with some architecture and cache revisions, Qualcomm claims this can result in up to 20% better performance with 16% better power efficiency.
The performance claims hold up reasonably well against last year’s reference unit in Geekbench 6 (yes, I’ve been keeping tabs). Single and multi-core performance registers 19% gains. More impressive, though, is that if you go back two years, the 8 Elite Gen 5 is 65% faster in both tests than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. That’s a massive increase in peak performance in just two years — those custom CPU cores really have paid dividends.
Looking at some real handsets, we can see roughly where upcoming Gen 5 phones will sit. Qualcomm’s new chip flies past the capabilities of Google’s Tensor G5, and its multi-core score even leaves Apple’s new A19 Pro chip in the dust — it’s 25% faster. While far more performance than you need for browsing the web, this super-quick multi-core score will come in handy for video editing, gaming, and perhaps even running AI tasks directly on the CPU, especially now that the Snapdragon’s CPU supports SME.
If you compare the results with google Pixel 10 pro XL. The 8 Elite gen 5 is nearly twice as fast in both CPU and GPU workloads.
Tensor G5 is very far behind in Socs.
Pixel people cope saying it has “features”. I like the Pixel UI and all but it’s not worth it for what is a mid range phone priced at flagship.
I got mine for the camera, support duration and no bloatware (other thing google’s)
I don’t really understand why phones need to keep getting more powerful, I don’t see any new killer features, just give me a bigger damn battery!
Pixels don’t even have that. Chinese phones give you silicon carbon batteries atleast.
But really I don’t think pixels are bad if it cost like $500-600
They do have the first 3! the battery is a let down though. Well, also the fact that water got into the camera…
Waiting for the phones with the EU mandated replaceable battery.
My point exactly, it should be $600 for the Pro XL.
Still good if you want ROM support or are willing to wait a few months to pick one up for dirt cheap.
GrapheneOS only supports pixels, and LineageOS only officially supports a few more models. If you filter the official LineageOS devices list to 2024/2025 models, you’ll see Pixels, Moto G 5G, and OnePlus 12R. That’s it. Options are similarly limited for Calyx, e/OS, and others. So with most other recent phones, you’re stuck with all the stock bloat and spyware, or unofficial community builds.
Also, they’re dirt cheap in practice in the US. MSRP is a joke. For most of the year, you could get an unlocked, brand new Pixel 9 for less than the MSRP of the low-end 9a. If memory serves, it dropped under $400 at times.
Aside from that, they kind of suck. I wouldn’t even compare them to high-end phones. They are mid-range phones masquerading as high-end. Credit to Google’s marketing department, I guess.
