Google doesn’t appear to have learned from previous mistakes with its smartphone series, after an initial Pixel 11 spec leak points to a major shortcoming.
Details about the phone’s new Tensor G6 chipset have been revealed by leaker Mystic Leaks, who has a solid track record when it comes to Pixel predictions. This is the processor which will power the full Google Pixel 11 lineup.
According to the tipster, the Tensor G6 will pack a PowerVR CXTP-48-1536 GPU. This is a graphical component that originally launched way back in 2021.
Needless to say, five years is an age when it comes to smartphone components. It all points to a distinct lack of progress in an area that badly needed Google to step up its game.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
An old problem
Previous Pixel phones, including the current Google Pixel 10 series, have attracted criticism for their performance. It’s not that they’re slow, exactly, but rather that their level of performance drops well below that of their flagship competitors.
Indeed, the company’s apparent lack of care about the graphical performance of its phones manifested itself with the launch of the Pixel 10 series, when it became apparent that its GPU was running on an outdated Vulkan API.
Google has since addressed that shortfall through a software update, but it spoke to a general carelessness with non-AI performance from the company.
The firm has been putting more focus on areas such as the NPU, which powers AI. This makes a lot of sense when Gemini is one of the leading AI platforms, but at flagship prices – which are only getting higher – it’s understandable for users to expect top performance in every area, not just some.
Onleaks / Android Headlines
Some good news
It’s not all bad news, though. This leak suggests that Google is upping its CPU game by switching to Arm’s latest C1 Ultra core, with a meaty clock speed of 4.11 GHz. This is the same core that runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 9500, which impressed us in the Oppo Find X9 Pro.
We’re expecting a considerable jump in CPU performance and efficiency from the Pixel 11 phones as a result.
All of which makes it a shame that the GPU is going to be so behind the curve. If you’re serious about your mobile games, you might want to skip Google’s smartphone provision this year.
We’ll find out official details about the handsets in the coming months, with an expected August 2026 launch.
