Google’s Tensor G5 is ‘good enough’ — but 2026 flagships are leaving the Pixel 10 behind

In one hand, I hold the Xiaomi 17 Ultra — a powerhouse driven by Qualcomm’s benchmark-dominating Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. In the other, Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL, powered by the latest Tensor G5 chip. On paper, Google’s latest flagship looks far less impressive in terms of raw performance, a fact Pixel fans have just come to accept over the years and one that’s a constant thorn in the side of those who love a bit of mobile gaming every now and again.

But benchmarks don’t always tell the full story — we seldom notice the extra 5% or 10% difference while browsing the web or scrolling feeds. Likewise, modern Android games aren’t always built to push cutting-edge silicon to its limits, and real-world performance often depends just as much on optimization and framerate caps as it does on brute force. So the question is: does Google’s Tensor still lag as far behind as the synthetic numbers suggest, or can the Pixel 10 Pro XL punch above its weight where it actually counts?

To find out, I put both phones through a series of real gaming tests. For a little housekeeping, I updated both phones to the latest stable builds available from their manufacturers. No betas here, these are the numbers consumers will see.

I wanted to start right out of the gate, showing where the most noticeable differences lie when it comes to demanding graphics and high frame rates. So I opted for COD Mobile’s Battle Royale mode and its high frame rate mode.

However, COD Mobile limits the Pixel to 90 fps and only allows the graphics to be set to medium with a frame rate above 60. Meanwhile, Xiaomi can run at up to 120 fps with graphics set to Very High. I tested both graphics settings to see if the Snapdragon is really capable of hitting that frame rate with graphics maxed out, since previous models didn’t have these options when I last tested.

It turns out not only can the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 hit 120fps on medium graphics, but it can do so on very high as well. Both settings hold very stably around 120 fps. The Pixel 10 Pro XL isn’t far from its 90 fps target on average, but its consistency is worse: 5% of frames fall closer to 80fps or below, while the Snapdragon is undoubtedly smoother, both in average and in the worst frames.

As an aside, the Pixel 10 Pro XL also drew far more power, clocking in at 5.8W on average compared to 3.9W for the Xiaomi 17 Ultra on medium settings and 4.8W on very high. While there are lots of variables here, from display to networking, it’s an interesting and potentially significant difference as well.

While the average and 5% low frame metrics don’t look too bad for the Pixel, it’s worth looking at how this compares to the Xiaomi over a prolonged play session. The Tensor G5 ebbs and flows quite frequently to around 70fps. That’s still very playable, but the occasional jank and frame-pacing spikes reveal that Google’s chip isn’t finding it particularly easy to render consistently. Compare this to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that barely stumbles at all despite its more demanding graphics settings.

The performance gap is even more pronounced in the fast-paced Asphalt Legends and graphically demanding Genshin Impact. Despite improved performance in the latest QPR betas, most Pixel 10 owners are still stuck with barely playable performance with graphics maxed out in these games.

In both titles, the Pixel 10 Pro XL averages about 40 fps, with occasional dips to 35. That’s still perfectly playable, especially given this is with every graphics setting cranked up. Thankfully, frame pacing isn’t a problem here like it was with Call of Duty. I didn’t witness any major jank or hanging during my play sessions.

However, when similarly priced flagship smartphones can hit a virtually locked 60 fps in Genshin Impact and up to 120 fps in supported titles like Asphalt Legends, the Pixel’s results are clearly disappointing. Double or more performance is a lead that’s simply too significant to ignore.

Going into this test, I thought the practical frame rate limits of real games might help Tensor’s on-paper benchmark deficit look a little better in practice. It’s true that the phone can hit 60 fps when you turn down the graphics settings, and even at max settings, it held well above 30 fps in my tests. However, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s sheer performance lead is undeniable.

Pixel and Tensor are a long way behind 2026’s flagship Snapdragon-powered smartphones. They regularly hand in half the performance in real games, while the 8 Elite Gen 5 can best Google’s flagship even with higher graphics settings enabled. That’s concerning, not because the Pixel can’t play games smoothly enough, but because rivals in the same price bracket are so much faster and future-proof against upcoming titles. At flagship prices, matching the competition — not barely keeping up — is the expectation.

If Google wants to seriously close this gap, it needs to rethink its GPU strategy at a fundamental level. Right now, Tensor feels like it’s designed to be “good enough” for mainstream workloads, rather than truly competitive at the flagship tier — and that’s increasingly hard to justify when rivals are pushing well beyond that baseline.

A more powerful, modern GPU architecture with higher peak performance and robust thermal scaling would go a long way toward narrowing the divide, especially in demanding games and emulation. Unfortunately, the switch to a new Immagination GPU from Arm’s Mali hasn’t made a difference so far. Worse, early indications suggest next year’s Tensor G6 will land in a very similar performance bracket, which risks leaving Pixel further behind at the high end while competitors continue to stretch the definition of what flagship performance looks like.

In the here and now, should gamers avoid the Pixel 10? Well, that’s not a straightforward question. Google has been gradually improving performance, but all the driver tweaks in the world won’t catch up to Qualcomm. With older titles and moderate emulation, the Pixel 10 series will undoubtedly see you through with solid performance at reasonable graphics settings. If gaming is a passing interest rather than a primary reason to buy a phone, then a modern Pixel still makes a lot of sense; it performs well enough for playable experiences, and its AI and photography tools are pretty great too.

However, if you want the smoothest possible frame rates in today’s games and emulators with headroom to spare for future generations, then the extra power of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 will be worth the extra cost. It also helps that phones like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra pack impressive camera and AI capabilities of their own, so you’re not necessarily missing out on all of Google’s strengths either.