The Google Tensor G3, just like the previous versions, has probably let down folks who were considering the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro as their next go-to phone. Its not-so-great performance and the fact that it often slows down are things Google hasn’t fixed yet. But, even though people keep talking about how this chip isn’t the best, there’s one thing it can do that no other smartphone chip can: encode AV1 videos at 4K 60FPS. That’s pretty cool, but there’s still one downside we need to talk about.
When we look at the Android smartphone chip scene, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Dimensity 9300, and Exynos 2400, none of them can do hardware-accelerated AV1 encoding at 4K 60FPS like the Tensor G3. It’s cool that Google is ahead of the game, but Mishaal Rahman has said it won’t really give the chip an edge because no apps support AV1 encoding at 4K 60FPS.
Rahman also mentions that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro’s default camera app, Pixel Camera, doesn’t support the advanced AV1 encoding feature, which is a bummer for the Tensor G3. Before, it was said that Google’s newest and best chip could do hardware-accelerated AV1 encoding at 4K 30FPS, but that’s not the case anymore. Google updated the Tensor G3’s specs and now it can do it at 60FPS.
The other Android chips we talked about earlier haven’t switched to AV1 encoding and are sticking with H.264 because it’s more widely compatible. There was a chat going on in the X thread where someone tried to correct Rahman by saying that the Apple A17 Pro in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max also does AV1 video encoding at 4K 60FPS. But, they were wrong. The A17 Pro only does AV1 decoding, not encoding.
Google will probably add the same feature to the Tensor G4 later this year. But, they should also make it compatible with Pixel Camera, at least, so Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro users can use the feature too.