Quirky charging requirements are nothing new. Whether it’s OnePlus and OPPO using SuperVOOC to charge their devices — and only their devices — at blistering speeds or Apple sticking with its proprietary Lightning port until it was essentially forced to switch to USB-C, it seems like everyone has a trick up their sleeve. Google and Samsung do, too, though we’re used to reaching for a USB PD PPS charger when we test a Galaxy device or a Pixel at this point. Or, at least, I thought we were.
Then, Google launched its Pixel 9 Pro XL, boasting up to 37W speeds from its brand-new 45W USB-C power charger. At first, I didn’t think much of it — Google has touted its in-house charging speeds before, but we’ve always been able to match them from chargers we already had. This time, though, no dice. No matter which USB PD PPS charger I tried, they all topped out at 27W when paired with Google’s top-end Pixel. So, I bit the bullet, picked up the shiny new charger, and here we are.