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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amdwilliam1985 - Friday, November 11, 2016 - link
Welcome to the new/strange world of tech.Apple focus on benchmark while Android/Google focus on user experience.
edved - Friday, November 11, 2016 - link
I'm also coming from the N6P, which this site gave a lukewarm review last year. Lo and behold a lukewarm review for the XL.I think it's the best Android phone out there and I'm very happy with it so far. Sold my N6P for a little over 3hun.
At the end of the day, there are a lot of really good phones out there and this is one of them. The display is fine to my eyes as too is the battery life. It's also very fast.
I didn't buy it for it's looks, although I think it looks fine. If you want flash buy yourself a nice handbag and matching shoes and call it a day.
This is hardware with regular updates and no bloat.
ankitkumarkhanna - Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - link
Good Post shared.. Thanx for sharingNashten - Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - link
I was enthusiastic with the Pixel XL initially. But it went down significantly when the rumor renders came out, and now with the review we have here. I can't justify spending 800 - 900+ bucks, CAD on this device when its design is bland and uninspired.The Nexus 6 when it was released was a shellshock in terms of price, but damn, when I put a ROM on it so I could customize RGB values of the screen, it really came into its own. Smaller bezels than the Pixel XL and dual-front facing speakers.
The 6p ticked a lot of right boxes, sans some questionable build issues... but I think if that device got the SD820, it'd be more inspiring than the Pixel XL.
We need more phones like the Xiaomi Mi Mix. That bezel-less beauty! I'm importing one soon... when its in stock. Even as an import, it will be the same price as the Pixel XL... or cheaper. Similar specs to boot. Better design.
nukmichael - Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - link
I hava aqusetion about battery life test 2016, the battery capacity of older phones (before 2016) may have decay, it might effects test results.number58 - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
Great review! Thanks for the knowledge.Hubert Satheesh - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
Anandtech is one of the reputed tech site. It's appaling to read that googles pixel is regressive in CPUbench mark tests when compared to 6p. Similarly if we go to your 6p review , the display was comparatively poor when compared to Nexus 5. In other words Nexus 5 was better than pixel in certain areas!! When other tech sites rave about pixel, anandtech presents issues in new light, though for the reader you have obviously omitted to highlight certain adavantages of pixel even though it might be called as a CRAP. Hope you take this shortvikramc - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
nexus 5 better than pixel ..what else ? this is what happens when you blindly trust your reputed tech site . As if other sites ( all of whom have praised pixel and half of them have called pixel better that iphones) are there to just make up numbers.noone2 - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
Presenting issues in a new light doesn't necessarily make them worthwhile or important. I just got my 32GB 5' Pixel, and coming from a 6P, I think this phone is way better.Is it worse in benchmarks? Maybe. I guess, according to AT. In usage though, I find the Pixel vastly better, thus the "new light" is more or less irrelevant to me. Might be irrelevant to you too.
fanofanand - Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - link
You seem a little confused. The Pixel regressing in CPUbench in some areas has absolutely nothing to do with the screen. The 6p's screen has absolutely nothing to do with CPUbench. So where are you drawing this squiggly line that results in the Pixel's CPU regression making it's screen inferior to the 5? Now if you were to say that the 6p's CPUbench was worse than the 5X then you might be onto something but as it is you are meandering down the wrong path.