Google Admits To Blocking Benchmark Testing On Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro During Embargo Period, Likely To Hide Tensor G3’s Shortcomings

wccftech.com:

An investigation eventually led to the discovery that Google was not allowing benchmark programs from being installed on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro during the embargo period, which is when both flagships were being reviewed to see how these models stack up against the competition. The company has now come forth, admitting to the prevention of testing on the latest handsets, and the justification is not all that convincing.

Attempting to get to the bottom of this, Notebookcheck’s Sanjiv Sathiah reached out to Google to inquire if benchmark testing on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro was purposely blocked during the embargo period. Initially, it was believed that an API mismatch or compatibility issue might have been the reason for this issue. At first, anytime a benchmark was run on these devices, users would be met with the ‘This app won’t work for your device’ message. Google finally responded to what was happening, and the company’s response was not remotely satisfying.

Google stated that it blocked benchmarking apps on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro to prevent their scores from leaking. However, the advertising giant also recognizes that users could have easily sideloaded these applications and run the benchmarks, so blocking the apps initially served no purpose. It is quite evident why Google would not want reviewers publishing the performance of the Tensor G3. Earlier leaks revealed that the chipset was actually slower than a three-year-old A14 Bionic that fueled the iPhone 12 range.

Also, prior to the launch, it was revealed that both phones overheat significantly, with the Pixel 8 actually scoring less than its bigger brother, possibly due to the lack of effective heat dissipation and the efficiency of the Tensor G3 itself.