Google Pixel phones aren’t best known for offering raw performance. In simple terms, the in-house Tensor chips are no Snapdragon 8-series or MediaTek Dimensity 9-series chips. Though the tech giant makes up for it with its software experience and computational photography, it may not always be enough. Well, Google has reportedly improved the performance of the Pixel 10 series with the latest updates, at least on benchmarks.
Google may have improved Pixel 10 performance with the recent updates
Benchmarks don’t always reflect the phone’s real-world performance. Pixel phones are usually on the lower end of the spectrum when compared to flagships from Samsung, OnePlus, and others. However, they are handy in some scenarios, like seeing when software updates have made a difference. With the latest updates, Google appears to have done exactly that to the Pixel 10 series.
Folks at Android Authority ran a few tests on the Pixel 10 XL following both the November and December updates. Both the GPU and GPU results show slight improvement when compared to initial results from when the phones first debuted. The CPU performance has improved slightly, with Geekbench 6’s single-core performance showing a marginal 2% increase. This is close to the margin of error range. Meanwhile, the multi-core scores have risen by 5% when averaged across three tests. While this is a welcome improvement, it’s barely game-changing.
Google is clearly putting in efforts
The PCMark’s Work 3.0 test reportedly shows an improvement of roughly 19-20% on the Pixel 10 XL’s CPU. Though significant, the report notes that they have clocked a similar score for the Pixel 10 Pro at launch, suggesting performance variability. Meanwhile, the 3DMark’s stress tests show an approximate 5-7% improvement to the GPU.
The majority of these improvements were seemingly delivered by the November 2025 update, with the December update that brought Android 16 QPR2 only showing negligible differences in performance over the prior update. These benchmark results only translate to paper, but nothing major in real-world usage. This wouldn’t suddenly make the Tensor G5 chip perform like the competition, the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Having said that, the phones might feel smooth around the edges, with better animations or a few more frames per second in games. Either way, this is good news for Pixel 10 owners, including the Pixel 10 Pro Fold . Google is clearly putting in efforts to iron out issues and smoothen things. Do you feel any difference after the latest updates? Let us know.
