Google just announced the new Pixel 10 lineup, and while the design is pretty similar to what we got last year, the entire experience is brand-new. All the AI features the company bragged about are getting all the hype, all thanks to the new TSMC-made Tensor G5 chip. The performance capabilities are quite significant compared to last year’s Pixel phones, but they still lag far behind the latest iPhone 16 series from Apple. The Pixel 10 Pro XL has finally appeared on Geekbench, and the results are raising eyebrows for all the wrong reasons.
According to the latest benchmarks, Google’s new flagship phone in 2025 struggles to keep up with Apple’s five-year-old iPhone 12 Pro Max, which makes us question whether Pixel fans should worry about the day-to-day performance.
Pixel 10 Pro XL loses to the iPhone 12 Pro Max in raw benchmarks, hinting at deeper performance concerns for Google’s latest flagship
The Pixel 10 Pro XL scored 1,948 in single-core and 5,087 in multi-core performance, which puts the device just behind an iPhone that was launched five years ago in 2020, according to a post on X. Apple’s older flagship managed 2,204 in single-core and 5,187 in multi-core tests, proving that even after five years, the A14 Bionic chip is more powerful than Google’s newest Tensor G5. However, we also have to take note that these benchmarks are not everything, and the real-world performance of the devices would differ vastly from what they portray. However, the gap in performance does reflect a recurring trend, suggesting that iPhone chips are in a rank of their own.
In real-world tests, most Pixel 10 Pro XL users will not feel any major slowdowns when browsing, scrolling through social media, or watching content, but the performance difference will become noticeable in gaming, video editing, and demanding AI tasks. Nonetheless, Google has optimized Android 16 with such precision that its own platforms, like Gemini, will run smoothly without any stutter. The only area where the iPhone shines is raw power, and Apple’s tight integration between hardware and software reflects that even older models age gracefully.
However, Google should be concerned about the future, as Apple is just about to launch its next wave of A-series chips for the iPhone 17 lineup. We are expecting the company to announce the base A19 chip for the standard iPhone 17, the A19 Pro chip with a 5-core GPU for the iPhone 17 Air, and the A19 Pro chip with a 6-core GPU for the iPhone 17 Pro models. These chip upgrades would offer a significant boost in both computational and graphical performance. We also have to take note that the efficiency of the chips will be on another level, quite better than what the current iPhone 16 models boast.
As we have mentioned earlier, the real-world performance and tests would be quite different from the results shown in early Geekbench benchmarks. We will see several tests and comparison videos soon, so be sure to stick around for more details.
About the author: Ali Salman is a technology reporter for Wccftech mobile section with a specialized focus on Apple and the intellectual property that drives mobile innovation. He has cultivated a unique expertise in analyzing and deconstructing complex technology patents, translating dense legal and technical documents into clear, insightful reports on future products.
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