Google is supposed to launch the new Pixel 11 series at a Made by Google event tomorrow evening. Unfortunately, the Pixel 11 Pro XL just popped up on Geekbench, revealing a phone that might not be able to keep up with the competition.
With the caveat that Geekbench listings can be faked, this doesn’t look good.
We’ve seen one Geekbench listing for the Pixl 11 Pro XL, which reveals the new Tensor G6 chipset. The tested G6 has 7 cores with 16GB of RAM and appears to be running Android 17 out of the box.
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If you’re unfamiliar with Geekbench, the test utilizes several tests to see how a CPU in a phone handles certain tasks. Single-core refers to how one core (or “mini-brain”) handles a single task, like, say, photo editing. Multicore refers to how all the cores handle multitasking, such as running several open apps at once or gaming.
Here’s how the Pixel 11 Pro XL compares to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Single-Core Score |
Multi-Core Score |
|
Google Pixel 11 Pro XL |
2,112 |
5,196 |
|
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max |
2,995 |
8,562 |
|
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
2,808 |
10,212 |
Here’s another caveat, though: Geekbench changed to its 7.0 version recently, which updates the hardware that the test uses to compare. Across the board, scores are lower in version 7 compared to the ones in version 6. So there’s not a ton of data yet.
We ran Geekbench 7 just today on the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Galaxy S26 Ultra to get the above scores.
In single-core, the Pixel 11 Pro XL is weaker by 42% (iPhone) and 33% (Galaxy), but not so much worse that it isn’t similar to previous years.
However, multicore is where things get worrying. The Pixel is 65% slower than the iPhone 17 Pro 17 and 96% slower than the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
I was able to find some version 7 Pixel 10 Pro XL scores and on average the Pixel 11 Pro XL actually seems weaker than last year’s phone. I’m seeing multicore scores ranging from 4,500 to over 6,000. That said, all the single-core scores for the Pixel 10 are under 2,000 making the Pixel 11 slightly better.
Notably, Pixel phones have tended to be slower than Apple and Samsung for years. However, Google is supposed to be catching up with new Tensor chips built on TSMC‘s more advanced 2nm process.
That process is supposed to bring a performance and efficiency boost. Last year’s Tensor G5 was built on the TSMC 3nm process, the same platform used by chips like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Apple’s A19 Pro.
Tom’s Guide will be on hand at the Made by Google event tomorrow and once we have the phones in hand, we’ll run the Pixel 11 Pro XL through our own battery of tests. Hopefully, this lone test proves to be the outlier and not the standard.
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