Leaked Pixel 10 Pro XL Benchmarks Match The iPhone 13, But That's Not A Reason To Worry

Google will unveil the Pixel 10 series on Wednesday, but almost everything about the four new Pixel phones has leaked in the months preceding the event. A series of last-minute Pixel 10 reports dropped just in the past few day, leaking the Pixel 10 prices, some of the exclusive new AI camera features, and teasing faster battery charging support. Also, a Reddit user tested a Pixel 10 Pro XL demo unit in a retail store and ran benchmark tests on it. The Geekbench 6 scores were not extraordinary by 2025 standards, which isn't a surprise if you're familiar with the Pixel series. If accurate, the Pixel 10 Pro XL will score about as high as the iPhone 13 models that Apple released in 2021.

That might seem like bad news to buyers interested in buying a Pixel handset for the first time or hardcore fans who want the best possible performance for their next high-end smartphone. But Google has never been able to match Apple's iPhone in raw chip performance. Google's custom Tensor chips for Pixel devices have not outperformed Qualcomm equivalents either. That said, Pixel phones offer fast experiences for most tasks.

It's likely the Pixel 10 models will be quite fast in day-to-day activities, even if they can't outperform last year's iPhones or this year's rival premium Android handsets. The Pixel 10 series should also offer plenty of fast AI experiences, which is a priority for Google. The company should dedicate ample time to AI during Wednesday's Pixel 10 launch event, as Gemini is a key Google product on Pixel hardware.

The Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold should all feature Google's brand-new custom Tensor G5 chip. Rumors say the G5 is a 3nm chip built by TSMC. The chip should offer performance and efficiency gains over the G4 chip that powers the Pixel 9 series. That will translate into faster, more responsive software and same-or-better battery life. On that note, the G4 chip wasn't a match for the newest iPhone or Galaxy phone either.

The leaked Pixel 10 Pro XL Geekbench 6 benchmark says the Tensor G5 will hit around 2,276 points in single-core tests and about 6,173 in multi-core tests. A separate Geekbench 6 listing for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold offers similar figures. The 2021 iPhone 13 series scored 2,213 and 5,240 in the same tests. The 2024 iPhone 16 models scored between 3,317 and 3,562 in single-core tests and between 8,193 and 8,814 in multi-core tests. As a reminder, Apple uses two chips for these devices, the A18 and A18 Pro, hence the discrepancies in benchmarks. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, rocking the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, topped 3,060 and 9,830 scores in Geekbench 6 earlier this year.

The Pixel 6 series launched in 2021 reached 1,378 and 3,186 scores in the same Geekbench benchmarks. Last year's Pixel 9 Pro models got up to 1,876 and 4,338. These figures might not be important to the overwhelming majority of smartphone buyers, but they show two things. First, Google has a long way to go until it can match the mobile chips Apple and Qualcomm can build. Second, the Pixel 10 series will still deliver big performance gains over last year's Pixel 9 model, according to these leaked scores.

The leaked Pixel 10 Pro XL benchmarks are probably correct. Pixel leaks are usually accurate, including those detailing the brand-new processors and their expected performance. But most people should not worry about performance issues. They will not feel the speed differences between a Pixel 10, a Galaxy S25, or an iPhone 16. I say that as someone currently using the 2022 iPhone 14 Pro as my daily driver. The old phone scores over 2,600 points in single-core Geekbench 6 tests and nearly 6,700 points in multi-core tests. It's still a very fast device, even though it's about to celebrate its third anniversary, despite not scoring as high in benchmarks as the iPhone 16 Pro.

Unlike the Pixel 10, my iPhone 14 Pro can't run native AI experiences because Apple Intelligence doesn't support it. The Pixel 10 phones will get plenty of Gemini features. The Pixel 10 Pro models should feature up to 16GB of RAM, which will likely help with performance, whether it's AI or regular smartphone use. Last year's iPhone 16 models come with 8GB of RAM. The iPhone 14 Pro has 6GB of RAM.

There are some reasons to worry about the Pixel 10 chips. High-end gaming experiences might not be that great compared to the iPhone 16 models or Samsung's Galaxy S25 phones and the Fold 7 and Flip 7 foldables. Also, the Pixel 10 hardware might not age that gracefully. The phones will probably get seven years of Android support, like their predecessors, but it's too early to tell whether Android experiences will remain as smooth on the Pixel 10 in four or five years. The iPhone 13 models can still run iOS 18 and iOS 26 comfortably, and they can be dependable phones in 2025. But the iPhone 13 models don't support native AI experiences. Also those 2021 iPhone chips aren't as battery-efficient as the Pixel 10's processor should be.