Speed Test G: Google Pixel 6 vs Pixel 4 (not a flawless victory)

Google revealed the Pixel 6 series last week, and it marks the first time we’re seeing the company’s in-house Tensor processor used in a smartphone. The search colossus made a big deal about how this new chipset was much faster than the Pixel 5‘s silicon.

But truth be told, the Pixel 5 used a mid-range Snapdragon 765G SoC, so it was expected that the Tensor processor would be superior. But how does the Pixel 6 fare against the Pixel 4? This was the last Pixel to use a flagship processor, making for a better point of comparison.

For what it’s worth, the Tensor chipset features an octa-core CPU comprising two Cortex-X1 cores, two Cortex-A76 cores, and four Cortex-A55 cores. It also packs a Mali-G78 MP20 GPU.

Related: Pixel 6 Pro review — The most compelling Pixel yet

Meanwhile, the 2019-era Snapdragon 855 inside the Pixel 4 offers an octa-core CPU featuring four Cortex-A76 semi-custom cores and four Cortex-A55 cores. Graphics duties are handled by an Adreno 640 GPU.

It’s not a surprise to see the Pixel 6 win by a huge margin overall and to see it win the CPU portion of the test, but the GPU section results in a slim win for Qualcomm’s older flagship SoC. It’s unclear whether the Snapdragon 855 simply has a better GPU, higher clock speeds, or better drivers.