Should we be worried about the Google Pixel 9?

The Google Pixel 9 is expected to launch in a few months, and unsurprisingly, we’ve already received a fairly comprehensive set of leaks and rumors about it. The latest one comes from Geekbench, revealing benchmarks of the Pixel 9 and rumored Pixel 9 Pro X that may dampen enthusiasm for the upcoming flagship.

The leaked benchmarks show a Pixel 9 Pro XL with a 1378 single-core and a 3723 multi-core score. Meanwhile, the Pixel 9 shows a 1653 single-core score and a 3313 multi-core score. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is expected to have one 3.10GHz primary core, three 2.6GHz performance cores, four 1.95GHz efficiency cores, and 16GB of RAM. The Pixel 9 should have the same CPU cluster with 8GB of RAM.

These are pretty lackluster results for new phones that are expected to come with the Tensor G4 processor. It’s notably lower than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which we praised for its excellent performance in the review of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It’s also not very impressive compared to the Tensor G3 chip on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, which handled tasks on both phones excellently.

Unfortunately, this would be in line with previous results we’ve seen on Google’s Pixel lineup. In terms of raw performance numbers, the Tensor chipsets have tended to lag behind Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chipsets.

Now, it is worth taking these preliminary benchmark results with a grain of salt. There’s still no confirmation that these are actually the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL, and if they are, they’re running early software that likely still needs a fair bit of tweaking and optimization. The phones should launch running Android 14 or Android 15, and that’s reflected in the leaked benchmarks. It’s also important to remember that benchmarks can also be gamed and aren’t always the best measure of how a phone performs in real-world usage.

Ultimately, we’ll need to wait and see how the Pixel 9 series performs when the phone is launched in the fall. We’re expecting three models in the lineup: the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL. They’re likely to be priced in line with last year’s release. In terms of other changes, we’re anticipating quite a few design differences, including a changed camera array, flatter sides, and more.