Is Pixel 7 Good For Games?
The Pixel 7 Pro may be a great phone for taking photos, but it seems that it is not so much for gaming. That is what is clear, at least, from the tests carried out by a YouTuber called Golden Reviewer. The specialist has subjected the Pixel 7 Pro to a barrage of tests with the Genshin Impact video game, and the results are not good.
As Golden Reviewer himself breaks down in his video, the performance of the Pixel 7 Pro is below that of other phones with supposedly much less powerful processors. It is not only that the Tensor G2 Chip that the Pixel 7 Pro has is below a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. It is that it does not surpass other less powerful processors of the previous generation, such as the Dimensity 8100 of the Redmi K50 or the Snapdragon 870 of the Poco F3.
The worst part is taken by the frame rate, which in the Pixel 7 Pro reaches an average of 37.2FPS, something well below rates such as that of the iPhone 14 Plus (57.5FPS) or that of the Galaxy Fold 4 (41, 4FPS). It is not clear what exactly causes this poor performance. The thing does not seem to have to do with specific throttling drops like those that plagued the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The power in the Tensor G2 is consistently lacking, at least for video games.
Synthetic tests, of course, are not everything, but Golden Reviewer has tested playing Genshin Impact by measuring the frame rate in real-time and there are significant drops every few seconds. The verdict of this Youtuber is that the Tensor G2 is comparable, in terms of gaming, to a mobile processor from two years ago like the Exynos 2100 of the Galaxy S21 Ultra. It remains to be seen if the problem is that the games are not yet optimized for the Tensor G2 and if the frame rate can be improved in the future through software updates.
Be that as it may, it is not in the performance where the phone fails. As said, this mobile has a brand new Google processor - the Tensor G2. This chipset is designed not so much to make the most of games (the gaming section was barely mentioned in the presentation) but to enhance some specific tasks, such as those related to artificial intelligence.
The G2 is a high-end processor that gets hot as it did in previous models from both Google and other companies. Not that it's a problem, all processors get hot at some point, but the competition has done very well this year. And we are not talking about the iPhone, but about what Qualcomm has achieved with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. This chipset is much more efficient, generates less heat, and uses less battery.
All in all, the Pixel 7 Pro is a high-end terminal, with more than remarkable performance, with very correct connectivity (although without Xiaomi's infrared, ASUS headphone jack, or Sony's microSD). Taking into account the price of this terminal, it seems to us that in this section Google has gotten out of the way, without actually standing out above its main rivals.
Another important aspect of gaming, apart from the CPU, is the display, and the Pixel 7 has a screen that bets everything on figures and gets it right. The Pro models of the different brands are supposed to offer the best of their catalog. Lately, we have seen how the Ultra has taken over, but even so, we assume that, when we see the name Pro, we are facing a terminal with maximum benefits.
A good example of this is the Pixel 7 Pro screen, which except for the fact that it is curved (and we don't like that), we can say that it reaches the maximum in all figures. To begin with, it has a diagonal of 6.7 inches, one of the largest without going into strange experiments. Something like this happens with the resolution, 2K of 3120 x 1440, which does not reach the 4K resolution of Sony models, but which is the maximum view on the market if we omit the Japanese brand.
Something similar happens with brightness. It does not reach the 2000 nits of the brightness of the new iPhones but it is close, with 1500 nits peak and 1000 nits in normal circumstances. Plus, it's an LTPO panel, so it can dynamically change its refresh rate up to a maximum of 120Hz. No, they are not as high as the 144 Hz of the Motorola but still are fighting against the best.
The fingerprint sensor works very well, and the animation speed has improved somewhat, although it is still slower than in other models, and it seems that the sensor is slow. No, it is not. How could it be otherwise, it is compatible with HDR10 + and the viewing quality is more than remarkable. Google has wanted the screen to be one of the great differential elements of this model with its little brother and, except for the camera, it is the most differential.
Should you buy a Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro to play video games?
Well, if your sole purpose in buying a new phone is to play games, then the new Pixel 7 series would not be the best choice. Some phones can perform much better in terms of graphical detail levels and fps (frames-per-second). Both Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, although new phones are still behind some older phones.
However, the new Pixel 7 series is quite compact and all-around balanced. Users can enjoy great photos and videos, unique and cool features, an incredible Android experience, a good battery, and much more. In case gaming is not your primary goal and you wish to play some cool games occasionally, these two Pixel 7 phones will definitely be a good buy. And truth be told, most people that enjoy video games on their mobile phones do not require high fps and lightning-fast responsiveness, therefore Pixel 7 phones will be quite adequate but not perfect.
© 2024 i-BLADES.
