Understand Pixel 3 Wireless Charging
Although wireless charging has been around for years, it faced a really slow mass adoption. The Pixel 3 supports wireless charging for the first time in a Pixel phone and we love the idea. This feature is supported by the new $79 hardware accessory called Pixel Stand. Have you discovered it yet? Obviously, it wirelessly charges the phone, as well as any Qi compatible smartphone and it does a bit more than that for the Pixel 3.
Drop the Pixel 3 into the Pixel Stand, and the phone’s interface turns into a glanceable display that puts Google Assistant in the center of your attention. You can then engage with Assistant via voice prompts or one-touch control buttons. The choice is all yours! And if you want, you can easily access Assistant features like the alarm clock, home control, and others. You can even wake up in a fresh way. The screen will slowly brighten, turning yellow ahead of your alarm sounding to wake you up in the morning.
Now, returning to our things, the Pixel 3 is a Qi wireless certified device and this is actually one of the top-line features of Pixel 3. In these days, wireless chargers are refreshingly simple devices. Just take your phone, drop it on a pad or stand, and walk away. That’s it. Something though happens when it comes to your Pixel 3 and you should better understand it from the start.
Wireless charging isn’t as quick as imagined
Yes, you can drop your Pixel 3 on just about any wireless charger and have it work. But that doesn’t mean it will charge quickly on any charger. It will actually charge at about 5W, which is quite slow. To get the fastest possible speeds right now, charging at 10W, you’ll need a Pixel Stand wireless charger from Google.
That’s because Google has to sign off on each charger that wants to charge the Pixel 3 at its maximum of 10W. It is supposed to give it a “Made for Google” designation — because according to Google that goes above the standard Qi specification. It’s frustrating and like it or not, there’s no guarantee with any phone and charger combination that it will charge as fast as the numbers on the box.
For now, if you want faster wireless charging you need to use a Pixel Stand. And we have the promise of other third-party chargers that could offer the same charging speeds, but who knows when?
