New Pixel 9 leak promises a much smoother smartphone

We're not expecting Google to launch the Pixel 9 phones until much later this year, but the leaks are continuing to arrive early. Just weeks after the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 XL were leaked in new photographs, preliminary benchmarks have leaked too.

Those benchmarks indicate what kind of performance we can expect from the next Pixels, and the good news is that they could well be among the best smartphones, when it comes to a smooth experience.

The results come from Rozetked via 9to5google, which reports that the new phones will have Tensor G4 chips with a 1+3+4 configuration: the main core is a Cortex X4 with three Cortex A720s and four Cortex A520s.

That reportedly delivers a 15% performance boost and a serious battery boost too: the X4 is up to 40% more power efficient. The A720 is up to 20% more efficient, and the A520 is up to 22%. 

What do these benchmarks mean for the Pixel 9 phones?

The benchmarks are a rough guide rather than final figures: these numbers are being reported at a very early stage, and there are months of tweaking and optimisation to come.

However, they indicate that the Pixel 9 range should deliver a smoother experience thanks to that improved processor performance, and the efficiency gains should mean better battery life (although as ever that's dependent on what Google adds to the phones; more battery life often means more demanding components to take advantage of it). 

The specifications for the new phones are believed to be 12GB of RAM in the base model and 16GB in the Pro and XL, with all three starting at 128GB storage.

The Pixel 9 is expected to have a 6.24-inch display with the Pixel 9 Pro getting 6.34 inches and the Pixel 9 XL coming in at 6.73 inches.

All three phones are believed to have 120Hz displays for smooth scrolling. The Pixel 9 is expected to have a twin-camera setup with the more premium models packing 5X telephotos too.

In addition to the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 XL we're also expecting to see the Tensor G4 in the next generation Pixel Fold, and that may launch before the other phones; they're tipped for an October release but the Fold is believed to be coming sooner.