I tested the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s driver upgrade — here are the real winners and losers

Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more. I tested the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s driver upgrade - here are the real winners and losers 11 minutes ago After months of waiting, Google is fulfilling its promise to bring a GPU driver update to the Pixel 10 series. As part of the Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1 update, the Pixel 10 now runs Imagination’s 1.634.2906 driver version, bringing with it Vulkan 1.4 support and a selection of other improvements. So why does this matter? We previously noted that the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s gaming performance was fine but certainly not on the cutting edge, as you might expect from a $1,199 flagship. In fact, last year’s Pixel 9 Pro XL easily outperformed it in a series of emulation tests , suggesting that Google’s choice of a DXT-48-1536 GPU inside the Tensor G5 chip might have backfired. Still, gradual performance improvements and a new driver have now arrived. While a driver update isn’t a cure-all for dubious performance, it might help improve frame rates in some titles. I’ll be interested to see if there’s a bigger boost for any games that can take advantage of new Vulkan 1.4 features, such as Host Image Copy. That said, many games and emulators continue to prefer OpenGL, so I set out to test both. How do you rate the Pixel 10's gaming performance? Testing the best Android games For today’s Android game tests, I’ve selected Genshin Impact at maximum graphics and 60fps, as well as Asphalt Legends and COD Mobile’s Battle Royale with Medium graphics and a maximum frame rate of up to 90fps (120fps on other phones), to provide a good mix of performance targets and graphics techniques. Let’s get straight into the results. Good news: There’s a pretty consistent trend with the move to Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1 . Worst-case frame times are up slightly, resulting in less judder and shorter slowdowns. There’s a pretty significant average frame rate boost to Asphalt Legends (up 8.6%) and Genshin Impact (up 17.9%), resulting in smoother performance. There are slight differences in what’s rendered in each of our playthroughs, so take these figures as a rough ballpark. Still, it’s good news. COD Mobile’s Battle Royale test hasn’t improved as much post-update; the 2-3% gain is within the margin of error. This might be because the higher frame rate is already more demanding, as the game was posting pretty close to 90fps, which is the maximum it can achieve. Still, there’s a slight boost to its worst-case frame rate, which again translates into a marginally smoother experience. Android gamers rejoice: Google’s Android 16 QPR3 Beta 1 for the Pixel 10 series offers some significant performance improvements, although it’s not quite enough to achieve a locked 60fps in these games. But what, if anything, does the update have in store for emulator fans? Even more demanding emmulator tests Based on our previous emulation performance test of the Pixel 10 series, OpenGL was...

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