Dolphin emulation test
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
My performance curiosities were first piqued while trying out Mario Kart Wii on the Dolphin emulator. I left the renderer on OpenGL and set the output resolution to 4x for a crisp, native look on the phone’s large display. Technically, both GPUs might fare a little better under Vulkan (Arm in particular is a big advocate), but since OpenGL remains the stable default API for most emulators and popular mobile titles, I stuck with it for testing.
Midway through the third race on the 10 Pro XL, the silky 60fps sheen started to fray, dipping to 50fps and falling below 40fps by the time I’d started the fourth round. For regular games, that might be tolerable; for emulation, where frame rate directly ties to the game clock, it means visible slowdowns and sluggish gameplay that runs slower than real time.
PlayStation 2 emulation
PlayStation 2 emulation is notoriously difficult, relying more heavily on CPU muscle to emulate its unique architecture. So, the Tensor G5’s higher clocks and additional middle CPU cores should have helped here. Unfortunately, the opposite happened when I dabbed in some Need for Speed: Most Wanted nostalgia on NetherSX2.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL struggled to maintain any consistency. Frame rates bounced between 40 and 60fps early on, then plunged below 30fps within three minutes. At that point, gameplay slowed to an unplayable crawl as emulation runs at effectively half speed. Once again, performance drops correlated closely with throttling, as CPU clocks slowed down when internal temps reached roughly 35°C. What’s important to note is that once the CPU clocks fall, average GPU clocks also decline, hinting at lower utilization.
Seriously, what about Vulkan?
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
OK, I can already hear the groans about this test. Technically, Vulkan is the more modern graphics API, designed to reduce CPU overhead and improve efficiency. With good driver support, it should outperform the aging OpenGL. So, surely a game like Need for Speed: Most Wanted would benefit?
Well, I tested it — and the results were mixed. On the Pixel 9 Pro XL, the Mali GPU absolutely delivered, locking in a steady 60fps for an entire lap and smoothing out the experience beautifully. However, it was a different story on the Pixel 10 Pro XL: frame rates collapsed to around 25fps and lower, making the game unplayable. I couldn’t bring myself to sit through multiple slow-motion runs to record a graph.
Google’s Tensor G5 is a big risk
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Undoubtedly, the key takeaway from my time testing these phones is that gamers who use higher-end emulators should think twice about picking up the Google Pixel 10 series. In fact, they’d be better off grabbing last year’s model. It might be harsh to call the switch to the DXT a disaster, but right now, it doesn’t feel like progress. It’s depressing to think that next year’s Tensor G6 will reportedly switch to an even more budget CXT core.
This shows, once again, that Google’s Tensor project remains riddled with inconsistencies and issues. While it’s moved to a more efficient manufacturing node and ramped up the CPU clocks to try and keep up with competitors, the switch to an entirely new GPU vendor — no doubt in a bid to save costs — has resulted in a chip with glaring performance and API issues when compared to its predecessor. Let alone most of this year’s flagship rivals and even more powerful smartphones heading to the market in the next few months that’ll be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the chip runs a fraction cooler than last year.
