I don’t know about you, but when Google announced the Pixel 9 phones, it seemed like they were all being upgraded to 45W charging. However, that’s not entirely the case.
That would make sense considering Google launched a new 45W charger (£29.99/$29.99) alongside the phones and advertised “faster charging”. However, I dug into the spec sheets and found that none of the Pixel 9 phones can hit that speed.
In fact, only the Pixel 9 Pro XL can actually take advantage of this new charger. If you care about charging speed, here’s how fast each of them can go in wired mode:
- Pixel 9 – up to 27W
- Pixel 9 Pro – up to 27W
- Pixel 9 Pro XL – up to 37W
- Pixel 9 Pro Fold – up to 21W
And while we’re at it, here are the wireless charging speeds.
- Pixel 9 – up to 15W
- Pixel 9 Pro – up to 21W
- Pixel 9 Pro XL – up to 23W
- Pixel 9 Pro Fold – “Qi certified”
Wireless charging figures are based on using the second-gen Google Pixel Stand (£69/$79), otherwise you get 12W via Qi. The Pixel 9 phones don’t have Qi 2.
It’s not that Google is lying about charging speeds and doesn’t openly state that they support 45W, but it’s also not very clear without looking closely. We certainly got the impression that the phones were upgraded to 45W this year.
The store is offering the new charger as an additional purchase (the phones only come with a cable). Additionally, when all the stated charging times, such as “up to 55% in about 30 minutes” for the standard Pixel 9, are tested with the 45W charger, that implies you need that charger to get those results.
However, as you can see, the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold will all work just fine with Google’s 30W charger, even though it’s been removed from the official store.
Read our full Pixel 9 Pro XL review to see what we think of the only phone that will get the 45W charger.
Want to buy one? Check out our guide to the best Pixel 9 series deals.
