Pixel 3 XL Performance and Gaming Review: Should You Get the OnePlus 6 Instead?

We’ve really come a long way, not only in terms of technology, but also in terms of prices associated with Google’s smartphones, from the Nexus series to the Pixel series. If you’re looking for a high-end smartphone in terms of features and price, this year’s Pixel 3 XL definitely grabs your attention. But with the plethora of phones offering the same features for half the price of the Pixel 3, you’re right to question that Google’s flagship smartphones don’t.

The Pixel 3 duo uses the Snapdragon 845 at its heart, and Google overclocked the CPU for a reason. Interestingly, brands OnePlus and Poco polarized the market by launching much more affordable devices with the same supercharged processorwithout overclocking.

That stark price difference is intriguing – even if we consider the amazing camera and prompts us to compare the Pixel 3 XL’s performance to the likes of the OnePlus 6 and Poco F1.

But let’s first start by talking about how the Pixel 3 XL has stood up to demanding tasks, especially when it had to endure the overclocked processor and 4GB of RAM that felt inadequate.

Pixel 3 XL: Performance and Gaming

Beneath this elegant personality, the hardworking processor handles all the hard work. As we saw throughout our review, Pixel 3 XL scores impressive in benchmarks I was initially concerned about 4GB of RAM though. Despite these concerns, the smartphone performed excellently in AnTuTu and Geekbench scores.

When we compare it to direct competitors with almost equally compelling hardware specs, including the iPhone XS, Galaxy Note 9, Huawei P20 Pro and OnePlus 6 (8GB), here are our results from the benchmark apps mentioned:

Among them, the only device with Snapdragon 845 is OnePlus 6. As you see, Pixel 3 XL scores better than any Android device on AnTuTu But when it comes to Geekbench, the Google flagship can be seen lurking further down the run, with bad scores when compared to other phones.

this the only observable lag i noticed is when restarting heavy apps from Recents menu, after leaving it unattended for a short time, and this is perhaps due to the 4GB of RAM which might be a bit too short for big games.

• the game

Considering the high-end hardware, the Pixel 3 XL performs admirably. The Adreno 630 GPU in Snapdragon 845 allows you to play PUBG on Ultra graphics settings without any observable lag. Smooth gameplay with no noticeable overheating issues on the Pixel 3 XL allowed me to win chicken dishes without stuttering. Even though Asphalt 9 is not supported yet, I played Asphalt 8 without any problems.

Fortnite for Android was also on time when reviewing the Pixel 3 XL, and its performance wasn’t up to par with other games. The graphics were terrible, the gameplay was patchy and inconsistent, while there were numerous cases of frame drops and lag. The issues don’t seem to be device dependent as we’ve seen similar performance on many other devices. It helps if you lower the settings to Medium for this game.

Generally, Pixel 3 XL feels capable at tackling even the most power-hungry games and demanding tasks, and it doesn’t seem to get unusually hot.

While these results are more or less predictable, I wonder how the device performs against other devices powered by Snapdragon 845 with more RAM. So, I decided to do a more in-depth benchmarking and find out if the overclocked chipset and lower-than-expected RAM made any difference to the experience.

Pixel 3 XL vs OnePlus 6 vs Poco F1: Same Processor But Different Optimization

Before comparing different devices with the same Snapdragon 845 chipset, it is vital to take a look at the different configurations to be tested. For this comparison, we use the Pixel 3 XL, OnePlus 6 and Poco F1, all of which are in different price segments. This will give us a fair idea of ​​whether companies have gone to the extra trouble to fine-tune hardware performance.

It is also noteworthy that, despite the same Kryo 385 CPU cores, all three smartphones have different clock speeds. Take a look:

• Pixel 3XL – 4 x 2.5 GHz & 4 x 1.6 GHz; 4GB of RAM; Android Pie
• OnePlus6 – 4 x 2.8 GHz & 4 x 1.7 GHz; 8GB of RAM; Oxygen operating system based on Android Pie
• poco F1 – 4 x 2.8 GHz & 4 x 1.8 GHz; 6GB of RAM; MIUI 9 based on Android Oreo

Below are the scores achieved by the three devices after running multiple PassMark samples. At the end of this article I will explain the rationale behind the different test parts of the benchmark. FYI, the higher the numbers per test, the better the performance – except in the case of “Memory Lag” where the lowest value is about best performance.

Note: See our explainer below to learn what each of these tests means.

Frankly, the OnePlus 6 is much better than the other two, despite the same specs. While the overclocked Snapdragon 845 in the Pixel 3 XL does well against the competition – in fact, it’s better on some arithmetic tests too – RAM is a bottleneck. Lower RAM leads to a significant drop in memory-related scoresWhere the Pixel 3 XL finishes last.

Surprisingly, the Pixel 3 XL takes the lead in terms of 3D Graphics testing, and games look great on this gorgeous display on the Pixel 3 XL. Perhaps Google seems to prioritize graphics performance over faster processing speeds.

OnePlus 6 surpasses Poco F1 and Pixel 3 XL

When we take a closer look at the RAM features used in the three devices, we know that they all have the same LPDDR4X technology, with the same frequency, that is, 1,866 MHz. The difference in performance is due to the different optimization levels of the three manufacturers and the memory management cores they use.

OnePlus has done a great job at making Oxygen OS more performance oriented. The Poco, on the other hand, may receive lower scores due to the heavily skinned MIUI based on Android Oreo, and since it has a brand new UI, there are still some optimizations to be made on this phone.

Meanwhile, OnePlus is already gearing up for its next launch, which is scheduled for next week. Even without seeing the smartphone, I’m sure it will be great in terms of performance given its similar specs.

Frankly, the real battle is between the OnePlus 6 and the Pixel 3 XL, and the additional spending on the latter only makes sense if you want stunning performance from the cameras or the glossy screen. Aside from that, there are some issues with the Pixel 3 XL’s build quality that make me question the ‘premium’ label.

Crossing Mark Tests

Here’s what the different tests in the PassMark score mean:

• CPU Test
  • Integer Math – This test determines how fast any device can perform arithmetic functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) with integers and is measured in MOps/s.
  • Floating Point Math – The test measures the speed at which a device can perform mathematical operations on floating-point numbers, that is, fractions or numbers with decimal points. The results of this test are also measured in MOps/s.
  • Find Prime Number – The test runs an application that identifies numbers that cannot be divided by any number other than themselves and calculates how fast a device can run this test, and finds prime numbers per unit time.
  • Random Sequence Order – In this test, the speed of a device sorting 500,000 different word and number combinations of 25 characters each is tested and the result is measured in million strings per second.
  • Data encryption – The test uses AES, Salalso20, Two Fish etc to encrypt data. and then calculates the time it takes for a device to find the unique key to decrypt the data. This is measured in MB/s.
  • data compression – This test is used to calculate megabytes (KB) of data that can be compressed per second without any data loss using advanced encoding techniques.
  • Single Thread – This test determines the performance of the CPU in the case of tasks that use a single core at a time and are measured in MOps/s.
• Memory Tests
  • Database Transaction – The test uses standard C++ container templates to verify how well the RAM can maintain these heavy database templates and measures it in KOps/s.
  • Cached Access – Determines the read speed of a small memory cache block.
  • Read Uncached – Specifies the read speed of a 256 MB memory block in MB/s.
  • Memory Write – This test evaluates the MB/s rate at which information is written to memory.
  • Memory Latency – This test determines the time in nanoseconds (ns) it takes to transfer one byte of information from RAM to CPU. The lower this value, the better.
  • Memory Gear – Like the Uncached Read test, this test determines the time used to read multiple memory blocks simultaneously. Information is displayed in MB/s.