Anyone hoping for big performance gains on the Tensor 4 inside the Pixel 9 series should probably look away right now…
Google’s Tensor chip has never been a true Snapdragon / Apple A-series chip competitor when it comes to overall performance grunt.
But that was never the point:
Tensor was about making your phone smarter with machine learning and advanced AI capabilities.
And that’s fine. But grunts like me still like to know the chipset inside their phone can handle intensive tasks without thermal throttling kicking in.
The Pixel 9 Series’ Tensor 4 CPU Has A Throttling Issue
But it would appear that the Tensor 4 inside Google’s Pixel 8 series buckles under the pressure, with tests showing rather severe throttling when the chip is pushed hard.
Who did the tests? Shazzam posted his initial findings on X – you can follow him here @callmeshazzam – after putting the Pixel 9 through its paces. He caught a fair amount of flack for it too, so he did another test and got the same result: lots of throttling.
Performance Drop
The Tensor G4 kicks things off at full speed, running at 100% performance. But it doesn’t take long before things take a dip—pretty quickly, in fact, performance drops and eventually settles at around 64% of its maximum. Translation? The CPU is throttling itself to keep from overheating. So yeah, that peak performance? It’s not built to last.
CPU Throttling
“CPU throttled to 64% of its max performance.” That little message says it all. When the going gets tough, the Tensor G4 scales back on clock speeds to manage heat—pretty standard for mobile processors. But that means you’re getting a noticeable hit in performance when the chip gets too hot to handle.
Average Performance
The test clocks an average performance of 245,480 GIPS (Giga Instructions Per Second). That’s a solid middle ground between its max of 336,275 GIPS and a minimum of 211,180 GIPS. Basically, when things heat up, you’re seeing a big drop from the top.
Clock Speeds
Look at the CPU monitor, and you’ll see the cores dancing around. Some hit 1.32GHz, while others throttle down to a low of 0.70GHz. That fluctuation shows the system cutting power where needed to avoid turning into a pocket heater.
In short, the Tensor G4 can throw down impressive numbers, but don’t expect that performance to hold under heavy use. You’ll start feeling the dip when it gets too hot
What This Means for Pixel 9 Users
If you’re into gaming, video editing, or juggling multiple apps at once, brace yourself—under heavy use, the Tensor G4 starts to struggle. As the chip heats up, it throttles down to keep things cool, which means your device might feel a bit slower and less responsive during those intense sessions.
On the flip side, throttling helps conserve battery life by cutting down on power consumption. It’s a trade-off—your phone lasts longer, but you sacrifice some speed to get there. It’s good for marathon use, but if you need max power, you might feel the lag.
Sustained heavy workloads really test the Tensor G4, and that means the device can get warm—maybe warmer than you’d like if you’re holding it for long stretches. So, comfort might take a hit during those longer, more demanding tasks.
And that, my friends, is the first confirmed QC issue for the Pixel 9 series. I knew there’d be at least one clanger. I’m just surprised it took this long to show up.
