Google Pixel can use Tensor as long as it wants, I just want the rest

This week saw the debut of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chips and, with it, the usual onslaught of Tensor hate around Google’s Pixel phones. Personally, I don’t care about those, but new launches around Qualcomm’s event have shown off a lot of other specs I’d much rather see Pixel adopt.

9to5Google Weekender by Ben Schoon is a part of our free newsletter that also includes ‘Inbox,’ a twice-weekly roundup of key stories from around the web by Daniel Bader. Sign up here to get Weekender delivered to your inbox every Sunday along with ‘Inbox’ on Tuesday and Thursday. You can find past issues here.

Google’s Tensor chip in Pixel phones has been a hot-button issue for enthusiasts for the entire time Google has been working on the project. And, I get it. Tensor is objectively not as powerful as a flagship Snapdragon or MediaTek chip and, with Pixel phones getting more and more expensive, that’s hard to accept. Google has solved many of the biggest deficiencies, leading to fairly wide acceptance from the “average Joe” customer base that Google is aiming for in the first place, but every year the same conversation comes back up with a new Snapdragon chip – “I wish that was in my Pixel.”

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 family – I’m choosing to not put “Extreme” into that word salad here – looks incredible, and MediaTek’s new Dimensity 9600 Pro is also going to be solid. It’s totally okay to be annoyed that Pixels don’t get the same raw horsepower.

But, for me at least, it’s everything else that I wish Google would get a bit more on board with.

This week’s new chip launches also saw the announcement of new phones using those chips and, man, it’s wild how much faster these other brands are progressing compared to market staples like Pixel and Galaxy. The Xiaomi 18 Pro and Oppo Find X10 look insane.

8,000+ mAh batteries, a plethora of 200MP cameras, that’s the sort of stuff I wish I was getting on my Pixel. Forget horsepower, give me battery life and camera sensors that look good even before the power of computational photography steps in. The Oppo Find X9 Ultra was a big wake-up for me in that regard, as it was the first phone in quite a while that made me want to ditch the Pixel from my phone lineup (and I’m sure our Inbox author Daniel Bader is greatly enjoying it after prying it from my “Techtember”-ed fingers).

Google, if you’re listening, the rest of the Android world is frankly killing it on the hardware front right now. The software is still so-so in my book, but the practical wins that come from these all-out builds are too great to ignore. So, Pixel 12 maybe? Thanks.

This Week’s Top Stories

Googlebook is here – what do you think?

Following a tease earlier this year, Google took the wraps off of its Android-based Googlebook platform. Five laptops, deep smartphone integration, and prices starting at $899. I’m personally skeptical, but I’m very curious to hear what you think about the new initiative.

Next year’s Android chips are here

As mentioned earlier, Qualcomm and MediaTek both made big announcements this year, those being their respective new chipsets for Android flagships. Qualcomm has a pair of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips, one more powerful than the other, while MediaTek has a Dimensity 9600 Pro alongside a variant designed for the “flagship killer” segment. Expect plenty more new Android phones to be announced in the coming weeks with these chips.