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A new speed test between the Google Pixel 6 Pro and the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max offers an excellent idea of the two flagships’ performance attributes.
The test comes from the YouTube channel PhoneBuff. Historically, iPhones pip the Android flagship in such comparisons. While this doesn’t change with the Pixel 6 Pro in this test, it managed to perform better than Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Even though these tests don’t represent real-world performance, they give us a decent idea about the strengths and weaknesses of both devices. The test uses a robotic arm to open and close a total of four games and 12 apps. This arm also has to control a timer.
Despite having an early advantage, the Pixel 6 Pro falls behind in this test
The Pixel 6 Pro starts reasonably well, opening Microsoft’s suite of apps much faster than the iPhone 13 Pro Max. However, the Apple offering gains a significant edge in video editing/exporting, effectively blazing past the Pixel 6 Pro. The second round of tests includes the two devices running the same apps but in reverse.
Towards the end, the Pixel 6 Pro finishes the test roughly five seconds after the iPhone 13 Pro. This is an indistinguishable difference in real-world situations, so it’s likely that a majority of the users won’t be able to tell the difference. But it’s a good result for Google, especially considering the early reactions to the SoC.
As 9to5Google points out, the same test was conducted with a Snapdragon 888-toting Galaxy S21 Ultra recently, revealing a deficit of around 10 seconds. So Google has clearly made tremendous inroads with its Tensor SoC, and it’s only going to get better in future iterations.
Interestingly, the Snapdragon 888 scores impressive points over the Google Tensor in benchmark scores. But as the tests have revealed, benchmark data is not the only metric to go by for mobile chipsets.
We’ve learned that Qualcomm isn’t too pleased about Google developing the Tensor SoC for the Pixel 6 series. The chipmaker took a thinly veiled jab at Google recently.
“We’ve decided to make our own smartphone SoC instead of using Snapdragon,” Qualcomm said on Twitter, followed by a series of red flag emojis, indicating that it is a bad idea. Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo could also be getting into the business of high-end mobile chipsets. So Qualcomm may have more than one company to worry about.