A new benchmark has emerged that gives us a better idea of the Pixel 7 Pro’s specs, particularly the CPU and GPU improvements on the Google Tensor G2 chip.
We’re all looking forward to the launch of the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, which will be properly showcased at Google’s hardware event on October 6. Google has already given us an early introduction to the phones, at Google I/O, but there are still some details to be confirmed.
One of the biggest mysteries has been the upcoming “Tensor G2” chip, which will be the second generation of the Google Tensor chip created in collaboration with Samsung. After making a strong debut in the Pixel 6 series, though it has since lagged behind the competition for the past year, many have been wondering where Google is taking the next Tensor lineup.
Thanks to some expert digging by the Android developer. Kuba Wojciechowski On Twitter, we now have solid evidence of what the Pixel 7 Pro and its Tensor G2 chip will bring to the table, performance-wise. We need to go through a little disclaimer first, though, as much of the new information comes from a new Geekbench listing for the Pixel 7 Pro.
It should be noted that it is quite easy to falsify the information reported by Geekbench. That said, there are quite a few fine details, which our team also reviewed and confirmed, that point to this Pixel 7 Pro benchmark being legit. Regardless, these details should be taken with a grain of salt.
Digging into the details, it appears Google hasn’t changed much about the CPU cores used between last year’s Tensor and this year’s Tensor G2. From what can be pieced together, it’s using the same combination of two Cortex-X1 cores, two Cortex-A76 cores, and four Cortex-A55 cores, albeit with slightly higher clock speeds. Those slightly improved speeds combined with the smaller 4nm die size being used appear to improve the Tensor G2 and Pixel 7 Pro’s multi-core benchmark by about 10%.
While this may seem disappointing at first, it may work better as raw performance isn’t what we’re looking for to improve the Pixel 7. As my colleague Ben Schoon pointed out, the Pixel 7 and Tensor G2 need to catch up with the work that Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 did in terms of heat reduction and power efficiency. What Kuba speculatesIt is possible, though far from confirmed, that this design could help achieve that level of efficiency.
However, where the Tensor G2 specifications of the Pixel 7 Pro do it gets a significant boost in its GPU, which changes from Mali-G78 to Mali-G710. This new GPU is ready to offer 20% more performance, 20% more power efficiency, and even 35% better for using machine learning, one of the key focuses of the Tensor line.
On that note, there are also signs that Google intends to include a next generation of its Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), codenamed “Janeiro”, in the Tensor G2, which should offer another boost to the Pixel 7 series. One last detail almost confirmed by the benchmark is that the Pixel 7 Pro will likely feature 12GB of RAM just like the Pixel 6 Pro.
All in all, it sounds like the Tensor G2 may not make the Pixel 7 Pro an incredibly exciting upgrade in terms of specs for Pixel 6 series owners, but iterative updates could deliver a more consistent experience. For those waiting on Google to “work things out” with its fledgling Tensor series of chips, this may be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
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