We haven't seen too many Google Pixel 9 leaks in recent weeks, but we now have a few clues about the performance of the upcoming flagship, courtesy of device benchmarks and details about the Tensor G4 chipset running the phone.
These details are from Rozetked (via 9to5Google), and reveal a shift to a 1+3+4 core configuration on the Tensor G4 – cores being the individual processing units on a chipset. The Tensor G3 used a 1+4+4 configuration, for comparison.
Of course that's not going to mean much to the average user, but the primary core listed in this leak is known to offer 15% better performance and 40% better power efficiency (helping battery life) than its predecessor.
In other words, the Pixel 9 is likely to run slightly faster than the Google Pixel 8, but not so much that you're going to really notice it as you use the phone day to day. The new phone should run cooler than the one it's replacing too.
Pixel 9 scores
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Rozetked also has some benchmarks for the three rumored Pixel 9 models – the standard Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL (a new addition this year) – which are all apparently going to be running the same Tensor G4 chipset.
In these benchmarks, the Pixel 9 hits a score of 1,016,167, the Pixel 9 Pro manages 1,148,452, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL records 1,176,410. The Pixel 8 launched in 2023, meanwhile, got 877,443 points on the same tests.
All of which points to a somewhat modest increase in performance for the Pixel 9 over the Pixel 8 – but bear in mind that Google has a few more months to polish the hardware and software, and optimize the power the phone can get out of the Tensor G4.
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If Google sticks to its usual release schedule, then the Google Pixel 9 series should be unveiled around October time. We've already seen leaked photos of the handsets, giving us an idea of what to expect in terms of design.
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David Nield
Freelance Contributor
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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