Google has a new 45W charger, but Pixel phones can’t fully use it

While Google’s new Pixel devices were the centre of attention at the company’s August 13th event, there was other hardware the company launched. Notably, Google now has a 45W USB-C charger, which retails for $39.99 on its website and is too fast for all of the company’s hardware.

None of the new Pixel 9 series devices can charge at 45W speeds, with only the Pixel 9 Pro XL coming close. Here are the charging speeds for each new Pixel phone:

• Pixel 9 – 27W (unchanged from Pixel 8)
• Pixel 9 Pro – 27W (down from 30W on the Pixel 8 Pro)
• Pixel 9 Pro XL – 37W (up from 30W on the Pixel 8 Pro)
• Pixel 9 Pro Fold – 21W (unchanged from Pixel Fold)

Google touted faster charging speeds on its new Pixels, but the Pixel 9 Pro XL is the only phone that actually sports faster speeds, which is a bit of a bummer. The good news, however, is if you have the current Google charging brick, which supports up to 30W charging, it’ll work just fine for your new Pixel 9 (unless you get the 9 Pro XL).

Engadget suggests the 45W charging brick is an effort by Google to future-proof its charging solution in preparation for faster charging on the next Pixel phones (perhaps the Pixel 10?). And maybe that’s the case, but it seems weird that Google would launch a new charging brick alongside phones that mostly can’t take advantage of it.

Besides, Google is still quite behind the competition on charging. Samsung’s S24 Ultra supports 45W charging, and the OnePlus 12 supports 80W charging. Outside of North America, charging is even faster, with some Chinese phone makers boasting speeds as high as 240W.

Source: Engadget