The Pixel 10 series is official with the Tensor G5 processor, and it's going to compete with the iPhone 17 series this year. Google is aggressively marketing the Pixel 10 series as the iPhone replacement, however, does the Tensor G5 have the prowess to beat last year's A18 Pro? To evaluate the CPU and GPU performance, we have compared Tensor G5 and Apple A18 Pro in a detailed manner. On that note, let's check out the results.
Google Tensor G5 vs Apple A18 Pro: AnTuTu Score
AnTuTu Benchmark | Tensor G5 | Apple A18 Pro |
AnTuTu Score | 1,291,252 | 1,859,039 |
CPU | 457,073 | 715,654 |
GPU | 382,578 | 589,896 |
Memory | 242,613 | 195,541 |
UX | 208,988 | 357,948 |
In our AnTuTu benchmark run, the Tensor G5 running on the Pixel 10 Pro scored 1,291,252 points, whereas the A18 Pro got 1,859,039 points, delivering a 44% overall performance gain. In CPU performance, the A18 Pro is around 56% faster than the Tensor G5.
Not to mention, the 6-core A18 Pro GPU outperforms the Tensor G5 GPU by 54%. The AnTuTu benchmark shows that there is a substantial gap and Google's latest chipset is nowhere near Apple's year-old silicon.
Tensor G5 vs Apple A18 Pro: Geekbench Score
Geekbench 6 CPU | Tensor G5 | Apple A18 Pro |
Single-core | 2,285 | 3,467 |
Multi-core | 6,191 | 8,550 |
In the Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark, the Google Tensor G5 achieved 2,285 in single-core and 6,191 in multi-core. However, the Apple A18 Pro chipset, outperformed the Tensor G5 by a wide margin. In the same test, the A18 Pro scored a massive 3,467 points in single-core, and 8,550 in multi-core.
Basically, the A18 Pro is about 52% faster than the Tensor G5 in single-threaded tasks whereas in multi-threaded tasks, it posts about a 38% lead. There is a substantial difference in CPU performance, and mind that Apple has only used six CPU cores, compared to Tensor G5's eight cores. I would say the A18 Pro CPU performance is a class apart, and no mobile chipset comes close to it.
Tensor G5 vs Apple A18 Pro: Benchmark Gallery
Tensor G5 vs Apple A18 Pro: Specs Comparison
Specs | Tensor G5 | Apple A18 Pro |
Process Node | TSMC’s 3nm (N3E) | TSMC’s 3nm (N3E) |
CPU | 8-core Arm Cortex CPU | 6-core Apple CPU |
CPU Cores | 1x Cortex-X4 (3.78GHz), 5x Cortex-A725 (3.05GHz), 2x Cortex-A520 (2.25GHz) | 2x 4.05GHz Performance cores, 4x 2.42GHz Efficiency cores |
GPU | Imagination Technologies DXT-48-1536 GPU, No Ray Tracing | Apple 6-core GPU |
Storage and Memory | Zoned UFS 4.0 (512GB and above) and LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X, up to 7500 MT/s |
NPU | New Google Edge TPU | 16-core Neural Engine; 35 TOPS |
Modem | Samsung Exynos 5400 5G modem, Sub-6GHz 5G band support (India) | Snapdragon X75 5G modem, Peak Download Speed 10Gbps, Peak Upload Speed 3.5 Gbps |
Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, and UWB |
Verdict
Google is slowly improving its Tensor-series chipsets, but it's not competitive enough to rival the likes of Apple, Qualcomm, or MediaTek. Its CPU performance is decent enough to deliver a smooth performance, but can't stand heavy CPU workloads for longer.
Apple's A18 Pro is the king of CPU performance and efficiency, and beating it would require a major revamp in CPU design. In terms of GPU performance too, the Tensor G5 is far behind the A18 Pro GPU, as we saw in the AnTuTu test.
