Apple iPhone 12 primes beatdown as Google Pixel 5 scores own goal

This is definitely not the news Google Pixel 5 fans wanted to hear

Apple iPhone 12 Google Pixel 5
(Image credit: Yanko Design)

Over the past few days news regarding just how cheap the Google Pixel 5 is set to be has broken loose, with reports indicating that the new Google flagship is set to be markedly cheaper than other incoming 2020 handsets such as the Apple iPhone 12.

However, there seems to be one very good reason the Pixel 5 is set to ring in for less than the iPhone 12, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Huawei Mate 40, and it is something that has broken cover very clearly over the past 24 hours.

The reason? As reported by both xdadevelopers and AndroidPolice, the Google Pixel 5 is set to come installed with just a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 CPU rather than the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 CPU. That will mean no Google Pixel phone in 2020 will come with a flagship-grade processor.

Editor-in-chief of AndroidPolice, David Ruddock, sums it up:

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That "no phone with a top tier CPU from Google this year" will no doubt be music to the ears of Apple, which is about to drop the motherload of all processors in the form of its A14 Bionic, a system on a chip that has been confirmed to absolutely smoke even the best Android currently has to offer.

It will also be a boon to Google's Android phone rivals, with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 rumoured to be coming with either a Exynos 992 or Snapdragon 865 chipset, and the Huawei Mate 40 primed to come packing a HiSilicon Kirin 1020 processor. Both these processors will outperform the Google Pixel 5 comfortably.

Now, naturally, many Google Pixel phone users may be OK with the performance trade-off for a lower price, however if these reports are accurate, it will be a marked change in strategy for Google, who in the past have always equipped their new Pixel range with a top-tier processor, such as last year when the Google Pixel 4 came packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855.

Google, it must also be said, are masters at squeezing as most performance as possible out of hardware through its super slick vanilla Android experience, so here's hoping the Pixel 5 still runs apps, games and its UI as smoothly as we're used to from flagship new Android phone launches.

We're expecting to hear a lot more about the Google Pixel 5 and Apple iPhone 12 shortly, so be sure to check back in soon for the bigger picture on both handsets.

Robert Jones

Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), smart home and more for over 15 years. As the editor of PC Gamer, and former Deputy Editor for T3.com, you can find Rob's work in magazines, bookazines and online, as well as on podcasts and videos, too. Outside of his work Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket his two favourites.