Your Pixel 5 just got a lot faster thanks to the April security update

Google Pixel 5 (Image credit: Hayato Huseman / Android Central)

What you need to know

Google's Android April security updates includes a performance boost of as much as 50 percent to the flagship Pixel 5.
The Pixel 5 now performs consistently in line with other Snapdragon 765 phones.
The Pixel 4a 5G also received a similar boost.

The Google Pixel 5 just got a bit faster with yesterday's April update. Yes, we noted in the article that Google did say it was including "performance optimizations for certain apps and games", but a Twitter thread shared by Der Standard's Andreas Proschofsky indicates that the performance boost is between 30 to 50 percent, based on his testing post-patch install.

Turns out the Pixel 5 is now getting way better results in 3DMark. Like in 30-50 percent better compared to a P5 w March patch level. Even the results in general benchmarks like PCMark Work are a bit better (even though in this case really only just a bit). 2/ pic.twitter.com/58Ze5qFE6dTurns out the Pixel 5 is now getting way better results in 3DMark. Like in 30-50 percent better compared to a P5 w March patch level. Even the results in general benchmarks like PCMark Work are a bit better (even though in this case really only just a bit). 2/ pic.twitter.com/58Ze5qFE6d— Andreas Proschofsky (@suka_hiroaki) April 5, 2021 April 5, 2021

Now, while the Pixel 5 wasn't slow per se, it's GPU perfomance wasn't as good as it could have been based on the few sites that benchmarked the phone. This was especially striking in comparison to other Snapdragon 765-toting phones like the OnePlus Nord which cost less than Google's offering.

Reviewing the Pixel 5, Android Authority noted:

In benchmarks, the Google Pixel 5 performed well enough, but it certainly wasn't the highest score for a Snapdragon 765G device. The Google Pixel 5 notched a score of 2,633 in Geekbench 4 single-core and 5,994 in multi-core. In comparison, the OnePlus Nord scored 2,853 and 7,896 in Geekbench 4 single- and multi-core tests, respectively.

This update rectifies that, bringing the device up to where it should be. It's hard to find equivalent benchmarks for the 4a 5G, but seeing that Google points out both phones in release notes, it's an easy assumption to make that they have the same improvement.

It's not clear why the Pixel 5 would have been designed to underperform, to begin with. Perhaps Google wanted to limit overheating and prioritize the battery life in the initial release. It's unlikely there'll be a clear answer for this. The Pixel 5 remains one of the best Android phones as a complete package, and this update only makes that better.

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