Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Wireless charging on Pixels has been a complicated affair for years now. Oftentimes, the speeds that Google has claimed a phone can reach were only achievable through proprietary charging with the Pixel Stand 2nd Gen, leaving the phones struggling on other Qi chargers. Qi2 didn’t simplify matters either, with the Pixel 10 series adding Qi2 support but misbehaving on older Qi chargers, as reported by many users and shown in my own testing.
During my tests, I also noticed something else: My Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL were dropping down to 5W max when charging over my new Qi2 15W and 25W chargers, even though they’re able to charge much faster on older Qi chargers. Here’s what’s happening.