The Pixel 9 collection sees the introduction of the Tensor G4, and it is not markedly completely different to final 12 months. Google is providing Arm’s newest cores which are clocked marginally increased alongside a brand new Exynos modem, however aside from that, you will not see any main adjustments on this 12 months’s silicon.
Clearly, which means the Tensor G4 is essentially similar to the G3 when it comes to day-to-day efficiency, and that is in keeping with my utilization of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Professional XL. The telephones would not have any points in most mundane duties — identical to the Pixel 8 collection — however push the cameras or launch demanding video games, and you will see the inherent limitations of the Tensor G4.
As an outline, the G4 has a Cortex X4 core clocked at 3.1GHz, three Cortex A720 cores at 2.6GHz, and the standard set of 4 effectivity Cortex A520 cores which are designed to go as much as 1.92GHz. It has a Mali-G715 GPU that comprises six cores, and the bottom Pixel 9 comes with 12GB of RAM, with the Professional fashions getting 16GB as customary.
Annoyingly, Google determined to go along with UFS 3.1 storage on all variants of the Pixel 9 collection, so even in the event you go for the 256GB or 512GB fashions, you will not get UFS 4.0 storage. This is not an issue proper now, however with these telephones designed to final seven years, the transfer is shortsighted.
With that out of the best way, let’s check out how the Tensor G4-based Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Professional XL scores in opposition to their rapid rivals.
Tensor G4 benchmarks: How does it measure as much as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3?
I used Vivo’s unimaginable X100 Extremely to showcase the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3; it is likely one of the greatest telephones I utilized in 2024, and comes with arguably the perfect general digicam package deal round right this moment. Qualcomm did an amazing job generally with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and the chipset has significant effectivity good points and presents a sizeable efficiency increase on the identical time.
I am pitting the Pixel 9and Pixel 9 Professional XL in opposition to final 12 months’s Pixel 8 Professional to focus on variations between the Tensor G4 and G3.
| Class | Vivo X100 Extremely | Google Pixel 9 Professional XL | Google Pixel 9 | Google Pixel 8 Professional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Total) | 14899 | 13028 | 12907 | 12478 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Internet Searching) | 11497 | 10322 | 9150 | 11575 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Video Enhancing) | 6278 | 7606 | 7364 | 7356 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Writing) | 22368 | 15582 | 15399 | 13976 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Picture Enhancing) | 32759 | 19293 | 20133 | 18901 |
| Geekbench 6 (single-core) | 2174 | 1895 | 1210 | 883 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 6375 | 4111 | 3298 | 2748 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (rating) | 4677 | 2483 | 2588 | 2251 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (FPS) | 28.01 | 14.86 | 15.5 | 13.48 |
The change to Arm’s newest choices has allowed the Tensor G4 to ship higher single leads to Geekbench, however there is a clear gulf between the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL on this space regardless that they use the identical silicon. Google tends to set completely different energy limits and thermal constraints on its gadgets, and with the Pixel 9 Professional XL getting a vapor chamber this time, that is possible the principle contributor. The usual Pixel 9 misses out on the vapor chamber, with Google limiting it to the Professional fashions.
The Tensor G4 continues to be behind the curve relating to multi-core scores, and any sustained utilization is throttled early. This is not the case with gadgets powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, however on the upside, the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL do not get anyplace as sizzling. The truth is, they recorded the bottom thermal scores of all gadgets I examined in 2024, and Google clearly made this a precedence with the G4.
Speaking about priorities, Google nonetheless would not care about gaming, and the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL do not see any significant adjustments on this space. Whereas the Pixel 9 Professional XL had a stability rating of 78.7% in 3DMark’s demanding Metal Nomad Mild stress check, it had the bottom scores of any flagship.
Tensor G4 day-to-day efficiency: Higher than earlier than, with a gaming caveat
Whereas there are no groundbreaking options within the Tensor G4, it has just a few benefits over final 12 months’s G3. The change to the Exynos 5400 modem is an enormous deal, and it’s noticeable in day by day use. My Pixel 8 Professional constantly has points choosing up a mobile sign at house, and the low-power antenna struggles to take care of a dependable connection to the house 5GHz community.
The Pixel 9 Professional XL mitigates this problem; I had no hassle with mobile connectivity within the week I used the gadget, and it did significantly better on my house 5GHz community. That stated, it nonetheless is not on par with the Snapdragon X75 modem; all Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered gadgets delivered significantly better bandwidth, and had a stronger sign.
Google’s newest telephones are hobbled relating to taking images, a routine job on most gadgets. Whereas there isn’t any shutter lag with common pictures, portrait images take a second or two to save lots of to the gallery, and it simply is not doable to take images in fast succession on this mode. Once more, this is not a problem on some other high-end telephone I examined in 2024, and I took hundreds of portrait pictures from the Discover X7 Extremely, Xiaomi 14 Extremely, Vivo X100 Extremely, and the OnePlus 12.
The Pixel 9 Professional XL remains to be restricted relating to gaming, and if something, it tends to throttle a bit earlier than its predecessor. Meaning you aren’t getting constant framerates in demanding titles, and it simply would not measure as much as the Adreno 750 — it is no less than two generations behind.
That stated, overheating is not as huge an issue this 12 months, with the Pixel 9 Professional XL operating cooler than the Pixel 8 Professional in the identical titles. The Pixel 9 would not have the identical advantages, and it will get hotter in prolonged gaming periods — however nonetheless nowhere as a lot as earlier generations. It appears to be like like Google set overly aggressive energy limits with the Tensor G4 to forestall overheating, and that comes at the price of secure framerates.
Must you purchase the Pixel 9?
After every week of use, it is clear that Google made just a few welcome tweaks to the {hardware}. Whereas the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Professional XL nonetheless do not measure as much as the likes of the X100 Extremely, they’re higher than earlier years, and there aren’t many annoyances in day by day use. The largest problem remains to be round gaming efficiency — these telephones simply aren’t constructed to play visually-intensive video games.
In case you do not care about that, there is definitely loads to love with the brand new Pixels. The construct high quality is significantly better than earlier generations, and there are respectable effectivity good points over the Tensor G3. Most of all, it is the AI options that give the Pixel 9 and 9 Professional XL a substantial edge over different flagships, and the cameras proceed to be probably the most constant of any gadget.
Total, the Pixel 9 Professional XL is good. The inner {hardware} will not be the perfect round, however you get terrific AI-backed utilities that make an actual distinction in day by day use, and the cameras are nice.