We tested the Pixel 11’s Tensor G6 chip, and the results are brutal

I’ll be frank, my hopes for the Tensor G6 were mixed coming into the launch of the Pixel 11 series . Google has made meaningful upgrades to the CPU and TPU for traditional app and AI workloads, respectively, while switching to what should be a more efficient modem. But pairing the Pixel 11 Pro with just 12GB of RAM , down from 16GB last year, undermines its high-end AI credentials.

Meanwhile, Google has dropped a CPU core from its configuration, reducing the benefits of its more modern architecture. While we can’t blame Google for the current state of the global RAM supply chain, its decision to switch to yet another mid-range graphics chip is harder to defend. Still, now that we have the phone in hand (and managed to get around Google blocking benchmarks via the Play Store), we’ve been able to run our usual suite of benchmarks to get a feel for where the Pixel 11 series falls in the performance pecking order.