by I’ve written many stories about Google’s Tensor chip, developed in collaboration with Samsung…
in the summary from previous Summariesit’s pretty clear that Google is making Tensor chips along with Samsung because it’s cheaper than buying from Qualcomm, but also because it gives Sundar Pichai & co more control over what the final SoC can (best) do In Google’s case, the Tensor’s main areas of focus are AI and machine learning – parts of the SoC that enable super-smart features like dictation, real-time translation, the Google Assistant (and all the amazing support it offers), and even the handy Magic Eraser trick, which allows Pixel users to delete strangers from their photos.
The thing is, with such a strong focus on getting the most out of the inexpensive Samsung-backed Tensor chips, the Mountain View guys are leaning towards other things like the sheer processing power and newfound efficiency that Qualcomm’s processors bring , had to go to the table.
The bad news”? If you’re deciding between the cheaper Pixel 7 and the upcoming (more expensive) Galaxy S23, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset won’t make your choice any easier!
The good news? The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 should take care of that Samsung (and not only) flagship phones with a really solid selling point over the Tensor G2 as this chip now appears to be making phones like the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro look… mid-range!
Power over brains or brains over power?
Older Samsung phones are already faster than Pixel 7; The Galaxy S23 with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 could make Google’s flagship phone look like a true mid-range phone
Google is already falling behind Samsung in terms of computing power…
Let’s compare the current Samsung flagship, the Galaxy S22 for Pixel 7, we would see that the two are not far apart when it comes to CPU benchmarks (Geekbench 5):
- Galaxy S22 scores around 1,150 points in single-core (simple tasks) and 3,300 points in multi-core performance (more demanding tasks)
- Pixel 7 scores approximately 1,050 single-core and 3,250 multi-core points
To Google’s credit, the Tensor G2 powering the Pixel 7 flies past Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 when it comes to GPU strength. The most demanding 3D Mark Extreme tests tell us that the Pixel 7 (1850 points) leads the Galaxy S22 (1600 points) by about 15%.
So, yes – Samsung’s older flagship phone still trumps the Pixel 7 series when it comes to raw CPU power, but really, by not that much…
- The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1-powered Galaxy Z Flip 4 scores almost 4,000 points in single-core tests and around 1,300 in multi-core tests
- That means Qualcomm’s mid-cycle SoC refresh performs almost 19% better than the Pixel 7 and Tensor G2 on both single-core and multi-core CPU tasks, which isn’t a negligible advantage
Flagship or mid-range? Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 could change the way we look at the Pixel 7 and Tensor
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 benchmarks don’t stand a chance against Google’s Pixel 7 – Image courtesy of Ben Sin.
Things are getting a little ugly for Google and the Pixel 7 (processor-wise, of course) when you look at the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 running on the entirety of the Tensor G2 and the rest of the competition (apart from Apple’s A16 Bionic).
Unlike a week ago, we now have very real benchmark results from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, thanks to the Vivo-made iQOO 11 flagships, which became the first internationally available Android phones with the new generation Qualcomm SoC!
- The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which powers the iQOO 11 and is expected to be in all Galaxy S23 models worldwide, scores a whopping 1,500 single-core points in CPU performance and nearly 5,000 in multi-core!
- Again, the Pixel 7 and Tensor G2 achieve a single-core score of 1,050 and a multi-core score of 3,250, meaning the iQOO 11 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 break through Google’s flagship and beat it at single-core Passing tasks by 42% and at 53% in multi-core – a difference we usually only see when comparing flagship and mid-range phones (2020, 2021 and even 2022).
It is important to note that the The Galaxy S23 series is expected to feature an overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (for now, there are no rumors coming to other 2023 Android flagships). This means that the Galaxy S23 could (technically) easily outperform the iQOO 11, further outperforming the Pixel 7 and Tensor G2!
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 also brings faster storage than the Pixel 7
Antutu results (testing CPU, GPU, RAM) for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 also leave the Tensor G2 in the dust:
- iQOO 11 scores approximately 1,273,000 points in Antutu
- Pixel 7 scores about 813,000 points, or 34% less
As the Antutu scores suggest, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will also come with faster RAM than its predecessors and the Tensor G2 respectively. That’s because, unlike older phones, the new Qualcomm chip now boots to UFS 4.0 storage, bringing a noticeable jump in read/write speeds over the older UFS 3.1 previously found in the Pixel 7 and all other Android phones could be found on the market.
Without getting to the point (in which even I lose myself), the UFS 4.0 RAM in the S23 is said to consume 46% less power than UFS 3.1 with twice the performancewhich sounds very promising and plays an important role in the benchmark results of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Pixel 7 falls behind Galaxy S23 on software updates that can impact long-term performance; the “standard” Android flagship might not be that “standard” after all…
The Pixel 7 only offers 3 years of Android updates…
Processing power will clearly be the Achilles’ heel of the Pixel 7 series compared to the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra. However, there’s another crucial area where the Galaxy dominates the Pixel, and surprisingly or not, that’s software updates. To be honest, I was almost convinced that Google would feel more generous and start offering users at least 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of security support when the Pixel 7 launched, but that’s not the case. Instead, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro get 3 years of OS updates and 4 years of security support – just like last year’s Pixel 6 series.
Samsung, on the other hand, has really upped its software update game lately and there’s no reason why the Galaxy S23 series won’t keep that tradition alive, meaning they’ll give you 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security support should offer. The South Korean company also delivers these updates much faster (although not as fast as Google, of course – the main source).
The fact that Google falls behind other Android phone manufacturers like Samsung and OnePlus in the (crucial) area of software support is honestly hard to understand because… Google makes Android! And the pixels! And Samsung and OnePlus don’t.
In more practical terms, if I Having decided between the Pixel 7 and the Galaxy S23 (mind you we still haven’t seen how the Samsung phone performs across the board), I think I’d go with the Galaxy! At least if I know, I will keep the phone as long as possible (4-5 years).
would you agree
