News The Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8 is the best phone chip today

[AC News]

Google's Tensor G3 is designed to do a few things better than any others. Those things happen to be the best parts of a Pixel phone.

The Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8 is the best phone chip today : Read more

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Is it, though?

 

[shawngmc]

That's a very clickbait article title.

Remember when HTC released a blockchain phone? Barely. Because it was capitalizing on a fad.

AI/ML is a part of the future of computing, but it's a PART. Everything else matters too. In a few years, there will be good enough commodity ML models that none of these vendor AI models will be differentiators. Phones will need to be good enough to run these models fast enough, and we should see that on everything except the budget segment.

Meanwhile - and this is important - the performance of the rest of the phone matters. What good is amazing AI performance if games halfway through the phone's release cycle are sluggish, or network connectivity is compromised, or the battery life has halved?

I wanted to love the Pixel 8. I wanted to easily justify ditching my Z Flip 4, a phone that is just grating on everything except performance. But paying full price for a performance sidegrade is really difficult, and nothing in the AI/ML being shown right now is life changing - and I'm a software engineer who has done some AI work!

Moore's law isn't dead, but we are reaching the limits of blind parallelization. Right now, the things that provide the biggest actual performace increase are:

• Increasing the speed - both in clock speed and instructions-per-clock - of the fastest core in the processor
• Improving scheduling to make sure the fastest core is doing the hardest tasks
• Improving memory and storage bandwidth and latency - more cache, faster RAM, faster UFS storage, etc.
• Improving the GPU so it can consistently feed high refresh rate screens and complex games
• Making the software lighter (think Android's Project Butter a few years back)

The limitations of this round of AI will disappoint us. I fear we are approaching another AI/ML dark age if we don't temper expectations.

 

[rvbfan]

I don't play games on my phone. That's what my computer is for.

 

[Kroll]

Speed isn't everything, but you gotta admit Tensor could be faster. I had a 6 Pro and switched to the 8 Pro yesterday. It's definitely snappier, but it still takes a few seconds or longer to process photos, run magic eraser and other tasks that Tensor is supposed to be optimized for.

 

[Lestat1886]

How I you know if the A17 Pro can’t run plot ai as efficiently as the tensor?

 

[nrfitchett4]

Is it, though?

Absolutely not because the modem is the worst on the market. And a smart phone with no connection is pointless.

 

[mustang7757]

No the G3 not the best chip by far it doesn't even compare to the first Generation Snap Dragon. Google offloads the generative AI tasks to the cloud because the chip can't handle it but I have no complaints yet on my Pixel 8pro.

 

[Technerd71]

So either Tensor sucks and because of 8 gen 3 (which isn't even available yet) it has no reason to exist OR it is the best chip ever??? Seriously.

This is the problem with our entire society. No one can even see nor consider a middle ground......

But I digress..The Tensor G3 is a huge improvement over the Tensor G2. No question about it. It is better in every way. I can say this from personal experience with both chipsets.

Google has never even stated that they wanted to best any other chipsets. They stated that they are focusing on many metrics besides just raw power. Since the G2 was an overheating mess Google was very conservative with the G3.

Despite this on raw benchmarks the Tensor is between the 8 gen 1 and 8 gen 2 which is a pretty decent showing considering how poor the G2 was in the same benchmarks.

Honestly the only thing that matters to Pixel users is that the performance is better than last year, battery life is better than last year, thermals are better than last year, and reception is improved with better efficiency. Google has delivered on all fronts. Does this mean that the Pixel 8 Pro will beat the OnePlus 12 with 16gb ram and 8 gen 3??? Obviously the answer is NO.

As long as Google optimizes Android for the Pixel 8 series it should run fine for years. Think about wear OS. It is essentially Android running on really slow hardware yet on the Pixel watch 2 it feels extremely snappy. So I think people forget how much the software can really make or break the hardware.

I had an P11 Pro Lenovo tablet and it had pretty decent mid range specs. It should have run a stripped down version of Android very fast. Yet because Lenovo did absolutely NO optimization the thing felt like a cheap budget device from years ago.

What I am trying to say is having the absolute fastest hardware is great but rather useless if not properly optimized.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

It's objectively the worst chip in a flagship phone, compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (or even Gen 2) and Apple A17 Pro pretty much however you want to measure it.

I don't even understand what this article is trying to say:

"Even Apple's new A17 Pro and its seemingly unlimited amount of horsepower can't run Google's own MOL and AI algorithms as well as the Pixel 8 and its relatively sluggish Tensor G3. Qualcomm and the rest really aren't even playing the same game. Since Google feels that these AI and ML algorithms are what's really important, the Pixel 8 wins by default."

So Tensor G3 is the best processor because it runs Google's specific AI algorithms the best? How does he know? Has he or Google tried running those algorithms on a Snapdragon or A17 chip? Does the Tensor G3 do better AI than the competition? Nope, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 blows it out of the water with the AI it can do.

Then on top of that, the performance of the G3 is multiple years behind the competition, on par with a 2020 processors. Tensor has been so bad in the past it would only last a couple of minutes recording 4k 60fps video. Now it lasts longer only because Google throttle the G3 more aggressively than they did the G2.

Then the battery and modem performance is woeful. My Galaxy S23U gets an easy 2-3 more hours screen time with my usage and cell reception is much better.

The Tensor G3 the worst chip in a flagship phone by a very long shot. The article doesn't even make an argument as to why the Tensor is supposedly the best.

So either Tensor sucks and because of 8 gen 3 (which isn't even available yet) it has no reason to exist OR it is the best chip ever??? Seriously.

You keep saying this and you're wrong. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is in the Xiaomi 14 which was released on October 23. It was released two weeks after the Pixel 8 release.

 

[Technerd71]

It's objectively the worst chip in a flagship phone, compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (or even Gen 2) and Apple A17 Pro pretty much however you want to measure it.

I don't even understand what this article is trying to say:

"Even Apple's new A17 Pro and its seemingly unlimited amount of horsepower can't run Google's own MOL and AI algorithms as well as the Pixel 8 and its relatively sluggish Tensor G3. Qualcomm and the rest really aren't even playing the same game. Since Google feels that these AI and ML algorithms are what's really important, the Pixel 8 wins by default."

So Tensor G3 is the best processor because it runs Google's specific AI algorithms the best? How does he know? Has he or Google tried running those algorithms on a Snapdragon or A17 chip? Does the Tensor G3 do better AI than the competition? Nope, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 blows it out of the water with the AI it can do.

Then on top of that, the performance of the G3 is multiple years behind the competition, on par with a 2020 processors. Tensor has been so bad in the past it would only last a couple of minutes recording 4k 60fps video. Now it lasts longer only because Google throttle the G3 more aggressively than they did the G2.

Then the battery and modem performance is woeful. My Galaxy S23U gets an easy 2-3 more hours screen time with my usage and cell reception is much better.

The Tensor G3 the worst chip in a flagship phone by a very long shot. The article doesn't even make an argument as to why the Tensor is supposedly the best.


You keep saying this and you're wrong. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is in the Xiaomi 14 which was released on October 23. It was released two weeks after the Pixel 8 release.

"You keep saying this and you're wrong. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is in the Xiaomi 14 which was released on October 23. It was released two weeks after the Pixel 8 release."

Right, but Xiaomi 14 isn't released in the same markets that Pixel is available like USA so that really isn't a fair comparison as I have pointed out before as you have said the same thing before.

Your s23 ultra gets 2 or 3 hours longer battery life and better reception. Fair point. How much more does the Ultra cost? Some people are willing to compromise a little bit if they save money. Depending on sales and promotions the Pixel is generally cheaper by a couple hundred dollars.

The s23 ultra might get better battery life and reception but I have not had any issues with reception at all on my Pixel. But the Pixel has better camera system except for the 10x zoom at 10x zoom. The Pixel is lighter and easier to hold. The Pixel has a flat screen.

That all being said the s23u is a better phone hardware wise no doubt. It is probably the best phone of the year with the Pixel 8 Pro as a close second.

In terms of what 8 gen 3 can do in AI we will have to wait and see. I wonder what the Xiaomi 14 can do with the 8 gen 3? I wonder what the Tensor 4 will do when it comes out later next year.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Right, but Xiaomi 14 isn't released in the same markets that Pixel is available like USA so that really isn't a fair comparison as I have pointed out before as you have said the same thing before.

The phone is not a concept, it's released and people are buying it. Just because a phone isn't available in the US doesn't mean it doesn't exist and doesn't mean the comparison isn't fair. Not everyone lives in the USA.

Your s23 ultra gets 2 or 3 hours longer battery life and better reception. Fair point. How much more does the Ultra cost? Some people are willing to compromise a little bit if they save money. Depending on sales and promotions the Pixel is generally cheaper by a couple hundred dollars.

I'll show you how much the S23U cost:



That's my tax invoice for the Galaxy S23U. I got the 512gb(!!!) Galaxy S23 Ultra for $1,589 AUD, the Pixel 8 Pro is $1,699 AUD for the 128gb model. I got a Galaxy Watch 5 thrown in and bought it months before the Pixel 8 Pro.
So if you want to go on price, especially when considering discounts and promotions, the S23U was much cheaper.

The s23 ultra might get better battery life and reception but I have not had any issues with reception at all on my Pixel. But the Pixel has better camera system except for the 10x zoom at 10x zoom. The Pixel is lighter and easier to hold. The Pixel has a flat screen.

The Pixel has poor battery life and reception - this is not a secret for the Pixel line. And especially since Google decided to go high-end with the Pixel 6 series, they should get even more scrutiny with their hardware and since Google moved to Tensor, battery/reception has always been an issue with the phones.

The camera and weight and screen are personal preferences. I've had to turn off Ultra HDR on the P8P as it's way too over the top for me. I find video recording still isn't great on Pixel phones and zoom is just a blow-out win for the Galaxy. Then in addition to that, I'm finding One UI 6 faster, smoother and easier to use with the better notification shade button layout. All personal preferences, but I don't think Google has an advantage here.

I wonder what the Tensor 4 will do when it comes out later next year.

What does the Tensor G3 even do? Anything that requires any serious AI gets pushed up into the cloud. I got Video Boost on my phone now and aside how long it takes to process a video, which kinda makes it useless (who wants to go into the settings menu to turn it on, then wait literally hours for the video to process), the results aren't very good. Terribly blown out highlights, way over-saturated colours. The boosted video Pixel 8 Pro kinda puts it on par with the iPhone and Galaxy in terms of brightness, but goes over the top. The Recorder summarisation is surprisingly really bad - it doesn't seem to know what to summarise, gets its sumary wrong and if you have a recording that's too long, it simply won't do a summary at all. Audio eraser changes the sound of the video altogether and makes it sound like you're talking in a tunnel.

The only decent AI thing it does is Magic Editor, which isn't done on-device anyway, it's all done through the cloud and will likely become a feature of Google Photos when you have a subscription, which I already have. So I'm scratching my head as to what the Tensor G3 does really well with AI.

We've had three generations of Tensor processors, I have no expectation that the fourth will be substantially better.

 

[mustang7757]

The phone is not a concept, it's released and people are buying it. Just because a phone isn't available in the US doesn't mean it doesn't exist and doesn't mean the comparison isn't fair. Not everyone lives in the USA.



I'll show you how much the S23U cost:

View attachment 358321

That's my tax invoice for the Galaxy S23U. I got the 512gb(!!!) Galaxy S23 Ultra for $1,589 AUD, the Pixel 8 Pro is $1,699 AUD for the 128gb model. I got a Galaxy Watch 5 thrown in and bought it months before the Pixel 8 Pro.
So if you want to go on price, especially when considering discounts and promotions, the S23U was much cheaper.


The Pixel has poor battery life and reception - this is not a secret for the Pixel line. And especially since Google decided to go high-end with the Pixel 6 series, they should get even more scrutiny with their hardware and since Google moved to Tensor, battery/reception has always been an issue with the phones.

The camera and weight and screen are personal preferences. I've had to turn off Ultra HDR on the P8P as it's way too over the top for me. I find video recording still isn't great on Pixel phones and zoom is just a blow-out win for the Galaxy. Then in addition to that, I'm finding One UI 6 faster, smoother and easier to use with the better notification shade button layout. All personal preferences, but I don't think Google has an advantage here.


What does the Tensor G3 even do? Anything that requires any serious AI gets pushed up into the cloud. I got Video Boost on my phone now and aside how long it takes to process a video, which kinda makes it useless (who wants to go into the settings menu to turn it on, then wait literally hours for the video to process), the results aren't very good. Terribly blown out highlights, way over-saturated colours. The boosted video Pixel 8 Pro kinda puts it on par with the iPhone and Galaxy in terms of brightness, but goes over the top. The Recorder summarisation is surprisingly really bad - it doesn't seem to know what to summarise, gets its sumary wrong and if you have a recording that's too long, it simply won't do a summary at all. Audio eraser changes the sound of the video altogether and makes it sound like you're talking in a tunnel.

The only decent AI thing it does is Magic Editor, which isn't done on-device anyway, it's all done through the cloud and will likely become a feature of Google Photos when you have a subscription, which I already have. So I'm scratching my head as to what the Tensor G3 does really well with AI.

We've had three generations of Tensor processors, I have no expectation that the fourth will be substantially better.

I had troubles with the pixel 7 pro but the 8 pro so far has been great, since you have better luck with Samsung maybe stick with them for a while and wait on tensor 5 or 6

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

I had troubles with the pixel 7 pro but the 8 pro so far has been great, since you have better luck with Samsung maybe stick with them for a while and wait on tensor 5 or 6

I definitely will be. Will be going back to Samsung with the S24U and won't bother with Pixel again. Not until they get their processor, reception and battery sorted out.

It's just funny when articles like the one in the OP are made with zero basis and when the Tensor G3 is objectively the worst processor in a flagship phone. It's slow, it's inefficient, it's bad for gaming even after the December update, a lot of the AI tasks are pushed to a server and the AI it does on device, such as summarising the Recorder, is awful. It doesn't do anything "well" and does a bunch of things badly when compared to other flagship chips.

 

[mustang7757]

I definitely will be. Will be going back to Samsung with the S24U and won't bother with Pixel again. Not until they get their processor, reception and battery sorted out.

That's the way I would go if one brand was giving me many issues and consistently

 

[Bkdodger1]

It's just crazy how I feel like I have a different phone when I read some of these posts ..I can understand though just move on....