Google Confirms Pixel 10 GPU Update — But There’s a Catch
Google says Pixel 10 phones will get GPU driver updates soon, yet it’s unclear if the major PowerVR upgrade will be part of the rollout.
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Google has announced that the Pixel 10 series will receive GPU driver updates, which means that the graphics performance of the device will keep on improving via software updates.
In an email to Android Authority, a Google representative mentioned the monthly and quarterly software updates are the mode of rolling out the GPU driver optimizations. The spokesperson went on to say that the already released security patches for September and October contain improvements for the Pixel 10's Imagination GPU drivers and furthermore updates are going to be released along with the software updates.
Although Google's confirmation gives some hope to the users of Pixel 10, the company has not clarified whether these updates will be included major GPU version upgrades or just incremental fixes. The vagueness of the announcement keeps the consumers guessing about how substantial the future enhancements will be.
The Pixel 10 is equipped with an Imagination PowerVR DXT-48-1536 GPU with driver version 24.3 at present. On the other hand, Imagination Technologies released a newer driver, version 25.1, in August which enabled Android 16 compatibility and Vulkan 1.4 support. Google has not yet made this update available for the Pixel 10, leaving the users to deal with inferior performance and limited features.
The users have expressed their discontent on social media as their performance-related issues remain unsolved in gaming and graphics-heavy apps. The returns of the popular title Genshin Impact, which dropped support for the PowerVR GPU earlier this year, have also added to the discontent of the Pixel 10 users. There are rumors circulating in Reddit and other digital communities that many users would prefer a significant GPU upgrade instead of simple bug fixes.
Typically, Google associates major GPU driver updates with Pixel Feature Drops or with overall OS upgrades. The following Pixel Drop is planned for December, which means the company might present the PowerVR driver upgrade that has been disappointing to expect at that period.
Google, after several questions, kept silent about a release schedule and the planned improvements for the driver. So far, Pixel 10 users still have to count on the regular system patches and wish the December rollout grants them the substantial GPU performance boost they have been hoping for.
