The Google Pixel XL Review: Life After Nexus
by Matt Humrick & Brandon Chester on November 8, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
- Snapdragon 821
- Pixel
GPU Performance
Section by Brandon Chester
The Pixel XL's Snapdragon 821 SoC uses the same Adreno 530 GPU that is used in Snapdragon 820. In the case of MSM8996 Pro AB, the max GPU frequency is set at 624MHz, which is also the same as Snapdragon 820. This means that at least on paper, one can expect the same GPU performance from the Pixel XL as existing Snapdragon 820 devices. Of course, there are always improvements to drivers and to the SoCs themselves as the manufacturing process matures, so there's always room for improvements in peak and sustained performance, but there won't be any major gains like what one would see from a completely new GPU or a bump in peak clock speed on the same part.
The Pixel XL performs similarly to existing Snapdragon 820 devices in 3DMark Sling Shot. All the devices from the past twelve months generally achieve the same overall score in this test, although when you look at the separate graphics and physics scores you'll see that some devices do better in each category than others. There's not much else to say here, as the Pixel XL isn't breaking any new ground, but it's also not behind the other Android flagship competition either.
As expected, the performance of the Pixel XL in GFXBench's Manhattan test is in line with existing Snapdragon 820 devices. This year devices have really standardized on a resolution of 2560x1440 and Snapdragon 820, so the Pixel XL's performance in both tests is essentially identical to other phones such as the HTC 10 and the Galaxy S7. It's hard to overlook the fact that the Pixel XL's performance is competitive with smartphones that launched in the first quarter of the year, while the most recent smartphones like the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are over 30% faster in this test despite being the same price.
In Car Chase the situation is essentially the same as Manhattan, with the Pixel XL performing similarly to existing Snapdragon 820 devices. In both cases the performance is actually a bit better, but not significantly so. The OnePlus 3 pulls ahead of the Pixel XL in the on screen test, which makes sense given that it's a 1080p device sitting among 1440p devices. Car Chase isn't available on iOS so there's no way to compare to Apple's A10, but among Android devices the Pixel XL does provide the best GPU performance available right now.
The Pixel XL's GPU performance is in line with the current flagship Android phones. Of course, it's already November, so it won't be too long before we see the next generation of phones arrive. Launching this late into the year means that performance isn't going to be significantly better than the initial wave of Snapdragon 820 devices that have been available since February or March, which does put the Pixel in a bit of an awkward position as far as price is concerned. You can grab a OnePlus 3 for $399 and it will perform equally as well in GPU-bound applications as the Pixel, or you can spend the same amount as the Pixel on an iPhone and GPU performance is significantly better. Whether or not this matters really depends on the customer, but it's something to consider when considering the balance of performance and features relative to the cost of a device.
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BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - link
Its nice to see a smaller model, but even 5 inches is hard to carry in a pocket. :(DM725 - Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - link
Lol what?fanofanand - Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - link
BC wears skinny jeans :)fvbounty - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - link
I waited for the Pixel to come out and then got a Nexus 6P for $399 and Project fi and couldn't be happier! Way overpriced for what you get, no water proofing, no OIS....DukeN - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - link
Hmmm another unenthusiastic flagship Android device review.Thats ok, they needed three weeks after release unlike those great Apple devices which are done almost instantly. Coincidentally, I'm sure, the Apple phones have the best reviews!
No bias here, just you know, luck of the draw for the last 5-7 years.
name99 - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - link
Uhh, you do realize that part 2 of the iPhone 7 review, the CPU deep dive, STILL is not out?And the first part of the iPhone 7 review came out three weeks after the iPhone 7 was released (October 10th vs September 16th)...
You can make up facts all you like, and you'll never be criticized, by all the imaginary friends at your doll tea-party, but when you want to make claims on the internet, you don't get to create your own reality.
vikramc - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - link
They are iSheeps ... but it hardly matters as they are the only black sheep .. all other sites and channels are wowed by the Google phone .. so Google will kick Apple butt with its very first iteration itself .. other chinese stuff and Sammy bombs are not even competition .nukmichael - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - link
Nice article! Original Design Manufacturer can fix LTE problem maybe, or get a 5" Pixel phone to find out what's wrong with your Pixel XL. Waiting for new update!!!GooglenexusPrior - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - link
I had a google nexus It died due to a faulty patch from google.The real problem with the Google phones is they are not repairable compared to other phones.
No one has any parts for them. If screen surface layer breaks . get a new phone. My Old Samsung. _t cost me $10 to get it replaced. Battery Bad on Google product? Get new phone. because a $30 battery failed early. And very few protective cases available. Go to a store. There walls of Samsung cases, iphone cases. ZERO google cases. Since No memory card slot I would always have issues transferring from phone to computer, especially videos. When phone failed last I had to SUE google . they wanted to charge me the cost of a new phone to fix a problem caused by their update.
sprockkets - Tuesday, November 8, 2016 - link
You must not be looking hard enough. I've replaced the battery on my N5 and N7 from 2013. If anything they are the easiest to find.And thanks to full OTA files now you can fix any recent nexus device that is bootloader locked.