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In brief: You don’t normally see software updates significantly boosting performance on phones, but it seems that Google is bucking the trend for the Pixel lineup for nearly every model released since 2022. A new update improves GPU benchmarks by up to a whopping 62% on Geekbench – a welcome boost considering these devices aren’t exactly the reigning champions when it comes to graphics processing.
Redditors over at /r/Pixel_Phones have uncovered some impressive Geekbench 6 GPU benchmark scores for Pixel devices. Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman reports that the Google Pixel 7a has seemingly seen the most significant increases – up to a whopping 62%, to be specific. Then there’s the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9, which experienced boosts of 31% and 32%, respectively.
Notably, the performance update isn’t limited to Android 16. Rahman notes that his Pixel 6a, which is still on Android 15, also saw a nearly 23% spike in Geekbench 6 GPU benchmarks. It even outperformed the Pixel 9 Pro, scoring an impressive 8,252 points. The real reason for the gains is the introduction of newer GPU drivers.
It all sounds rather impressive for a series of phones gamers typically steer clear of due to their lackluster gaming performance, at least compared to the likes of Snapdragon’s Adreno GPU.
Meanwhile, all Tensor-powered Pixels rely on Arm Mali GPUs. Thankfully, Google seems to have greater control over its self-designed Tensor platform – an advantage the company is clearly exploiting to eke out more performance.
Most phone manufacturers avoid rolling out significant driver updates to their devices post-launch to avoid stability issues. But Google’s leveraging its platform advantage to do just that.
The question remains whether these Geekbench scores actually translate to real-world miracles. Geekbench is designed to mimic everyday tasks like machine learning and computer vision, but further testing is needed to pinpoint which apps will benefit the most from this update.
Rahman notes that apps leveraging the Vulkan graphics API should take greater advantage of the driver improvements. Games should hopefully run faster too.
All said, at least Pixel phones have inched a little closer to their Snapdragon-powered rivals in terms of GPU prowess. Maybe if Google had released these updates sooner, the lineup might not have drawn flak for lagging behind rivals in performance.
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