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With few users in China paying attention, the Google Pixel 9 series was officially released overseas on August 22. In fact, from the hardware point of view, the Pixel phones in recent years are indeed not very attractive:

The entire Pixel 9 series uses the Google Tensor G4 processor. The digital series provides 12GB of memory and 128GB/256GB of storage space, and the Pro series provides 128GB (9 Pro)/256GB (9 Pro, 9 Pro XL)/512GB (9 Pro XL) of storage space. As for other hardware configurations, in the highly inward-looking domestic smartphone market, they may not even be able to stand out in the mid-range smartphone field.

The Android benchmark in the past, but now the configuration is completely lame

Of course, the Pixel 9 series is also mainly aimed at the overseas mobile phone market. Under the guiding ideology of "it's not unusable", the international mobile phone market does not care much about the hardware strength of mobile phones. However, this product concept of "it's not unusable" finally encountered problems in the Pixel 9 series.

Image source: Google

Before the product was released, some media expressed concerns about the performance of the Google Tensor G4 processor. According to the feedback from bloggers who received the phone in advance, the performance of the Tensor G4 processor can be said to be "completely poor". For example, in DameTech's test, the average frame rate of the Pixel 9 Pro XL in the 720P resolution of the original god is not only far behind the Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max using Snapdragon 8 Gen3, but even worse than the Pixel 7 Pro using the Tensor G2 processor two years ago, which is a reverse optimization.

In addition to game tests, many bloggers' performance benchmark tests also pointed to the same result. This "besieged on all sides" situation can't help but remind people of the Pixel 8 series a year ago - the Tensor G3 used in the Pixel 8 series also had serious performance problems, and Google's final solution was to "ban the Tensor G3 model from installing benchmark software", which can be said to "fundamentally solve the problem of low benchmarks."

The question is, how did the Google Pixel go from being the Android icon to where it is today?

Google Pixel's two fatal turning points

When reviewing the development history of the Google Pixel series, we have to mention two key turning points. These two nodes not only profoundly affected the market positioning and user perception of the Pixel series, but also laid the groundwork for today's low performance problem of the Tensor chip.

First of all, the first turning point of Pixel can be traced back to the Pixel 3 series released in 2018. Since the launch of the Pixel series, the camera has always been its highlight. At that time, Google took the camera performance of Pixel 3 to a whole new level through deeply optimized computational photography technology and powerful post-processing algorithms. Especially in low-light environments, the "Night Vision Mode" of the Pixel 3 series can take photos comparable to dual-camera or even triple-camera mobile phones with a single camera configuration, which quickly won market recognition.

Image source: Google

The success of the Pixel 3 series has established the benchmark position of Pixel phones in photography. This is also an important step for Google to start the deep integration of self-developed hardware and software. Although the Pixel 3 series has excellent camera performance, its overall hardware configuration is relatively mediocre, especially the battery life and screen display effect have been criticized by users. Although this "biased" product strategy has won the favor of photography enthusiasts for Pixel, it has also made it gradually lag behind other flagship phones in the market in terms of comprehensive competitiveness.

Image source: Google

The second turning point occurred with the Pixel 6 series released in 2021. In Pixel 6, Google decided to abandon the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that had been used in the past and introduced its own Tensor chip for the first time. According to Google's explanation, they hope to use Tensor to build Pixel's unique advantages in AI and machine learning, thereby achieving breakthroughs in computational photography, speech recognition, and AI. However, behind this decision lies a huge risk of bias - the performance of Tensor will directly shake Pixel's high-end flagship positioning.

Image source: Google

It is undeniable that Tensor does have its own advantages in certain AI calculations, and Google's hardware and software integration can maximize Tensor's advantages. However, maximizing the advantages cannot cover up Tensor's obvious shortcomings. In high-load scenarios such as games, Tensor cannot compare with the flagship chips of the same period.

The Pixel 3 series established its leading position in computational photography, while the Pixel 6 series ushered in the era of Google's self-developed hardware. Unfortunately, as the market's requirements for mobile phone performance and comprehensive experience continue to increase, the Pixel series' over-reliance on AI technology and ignoring the shortcomings of hardware performance ultimately led to the current dilemma of poor performance of Tensor chips.

Is the radical all-in AI the root cause of Tensor chip problems?

Ultimately, the problem of poor Tensor performance is not only a helpless move due to process technology limitations, but also a direct reflection of Google's "biased" requirements for chips, that is, over-emphasizing the advantages of AI and machine learning while ignoring users' demand for overall performance.

Everyone has to admit that AI is an important direction for future technological development, but most users are still more concerned about the overall performance of the device rather than just the highlight functions in certain specific scenarios. At this point, Google needs to find a balance in future chip design, that is, to improve the overall performance of the chip while maintaining its leading edge in AI, in order to truly win market recognition.

But time is running out for Google. From hardware optimization to core algorithms, to the application of AI big model technology, companies in the Android camp are having the opportunity to compete head-on with Google. Meanwhile, Google Pixel is still immersed in the pipe dream of "one solution to dominate the global market".

It is undeniable that when it was first launched, Google Pixel's software-first strategy did bring a lot of freshness to the Android ecosystem, and the Pixel 3 and Pixel 4 generations of mobile phones did play an important role in promoting Android computational photography at the time.

Image source: Google

But in 2024, “one trick” will no longer be enough. When more advanced AI LLMs such as GPT-4 surpass Google Gemini and become the preferred partner of mobile phone brands, what will Pixel use to maintain its high-end positioning?

Perhaps Google's strategy is to believe that "AI can do everything", but it is clear that user needs are not that simple. With hardware performance being questioned, Google's persistence is more like stubbornness, or even self-deception. In the torrent of the AI ​​era, Google tried to prove that it still controls the future through the Tensor chip, but in the face of realistic technical bottlenecks and market feedback, Google needs not only persistence, but also a deep understanding of user needs and actual improvement of products.

After all, no matter how powerful AI is, it cannot cover up the poor experience of a mobile phone in daily use. Perhaps Google should really re-examine its AI-first path. Otherwise, what awaits it may not only be a performance decline, but also the gradual abandonment of Pixel by the market.