Google’s upcoming Pixel phones are for the fans, even if its launch event isn’t

Google's Pixel 11 Pro XL is expected to be unveiled at a Made by Google event tomorrow, but leaky Geekbench scores suggest it may struggle against competitors. The leaked listing reveals the new Tensor G6 chipset, which powers a device with 7 cores and 16GB of RAM, running Android 17 out of the box. When comparing the Pixel 11 Pro XL's single-core and multicore scores to those of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max, the results are concerning.

The Pixel 11 Pro XL falls short in several ways: in single-core tests, it is 42% slower than the iPhone and 33% slower than the Galaxy; in multicore tests, the discrepancy is even more pronounced at 65% slower than the iPhone and an alarming 96% slower than the Galaxy S26 Ultra. While it's possible that the Geekbench listing is fake, the discrepancy in multicore performance is troubling.

The Pixel 11 Pro XL appears to be weaker than the previous year's Pixel model, with multicore scores ranging from 4,500 to over 6,000 compared to the Pixel 10's average of under 2,000. Despite Google's new Tensor G6 chip being built on TSMC's advanced 2nm process, which promises performance and efficiency improvements, these leaked scores suggest the Pixel 11 Pro XL may lag behind its rivals.