A new Pixel 5 leak has revealed further evidence that Google’s next flagship smartphone will come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G chipset.
On the AI-Benchmark website, a listing popped up for a device named “Google Pixel 5” - no subtle codenames or model numbers here - and showed off a handset running the aforementioned Snapdragon chip, alongside 8GB of RAM and Android 11. As such, this listing adds further credence to the rumors so far that the Pixel 5 will use a mid-tier chip rather than a flagship one such as the Snapdragon 865 Plus found in the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
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AI-Benchmark is a tool used to measure how well a mobile chip will handle machine learning-based tasks such as image classification and image enhancement. As such, the benchmarks in this listing don’t really compare to our benchmarks of other phones. But the Pixel 5 appears somewhere in the middle of the benchmark list, suggesting it has mid-range performance that befits its mid-range chip.
The Snapdragon 765G can be found in the OnePlus Nord, a very impressive budget to mid-range phone. And in our benchmarks of that handset, it scored 602 on the single-core Geekbench 5 test and 1,948 on the multi-core one, which is solid though soundly beaten by the budget iPhone SE 2020 and its A13 Bionic chip.
With this in mind, the Pixel 5 should deliver performance that’s roughly on par with that of the Nord. But Google has a lot of optimisations it can do for the Pixel 5 given it’ll be a pure Android phone, meaning real-world performance could be more impressive than benchmark results.
Furthermore, the boost from 6GB of RAM in the Pixel 4 to 8GB in the Pixel 5, should promise a better performance when users are bouncing between apps or using demanding software such as video editors or gaming. The Snapdragon 765G also delivers 5G connectivity, so the Pixel 5 should be somewhat futureproofed when it comes to cellular broadband.
Set to cost a rumored $699, the Pixel 5 should be cheaper than a lot of flagship Android phones, arguably marking a return by Google to making more affordable handsets outside of the Pixel 4a.
We’re expecting the Pixel 5 to come with a 6.67-inch display with a 120Hz or 90Hz refresh rate, and a dual or triple rear-camera array, boosted by improvements in Google’s computational photography capabilities. Given Google is likely making use of a mid-range chip, we’re not confident the Pixel 5 will come with any special features such as the Soli radar chip the Pixel 4 sported. But with the phone set to arrive in October, we’ll know for sure before too long.
