It turns out that the “Fast Charging” message hasn’t disappeared entirely. It still appears when you use Google’s 45W USB-C charger, but it’s not exclusive to that charger. In fact, any charger that delivers at least 20W of power will trigger the “Fast Charging” message on the Pixels 9 Series.
Also, annoyingly, the Pixel 9 Pro XL has removed the “fast charging” indicator and replaced it with an ETA. While the ETA is useful, I can no longer easily tell if I'm plugged into a “fast charger” or not.
Maybe Google's 45W charger still shows “fast charging”? But nothing that I have… pic.twitter.com/69hDi5WiGZ
— Artem Russakovskii (@ArtemR) 28 August 2024
This change is due to an update in Android, which is currently only available on the Pixels 9 Series. Until now, Android considered any charger that delivered 7.5W or more as “fast”. With the Pixels 9 series, Google has raised the bar to 20W. This means that older chargers that may have been considered “fast” on previous Pixel models may not display the “Charging fast” message on the Pixels 9It's important to note that this doesn't necessarily mean the phone won't fast charge. It just means it won't meet the new 20W limit.
While Google's official 45W charger guarantees the fastest charging speeds, any fast USB PD PPS charger of at least 20W should also trigger the “Charging fast” message. It's worth noting that Google's phones don't use a proprietary wired charging standard, so you have flexibility when choosing a charger.
Basically, the Pixels 9 The series has redefined what it means by “fast charging” by raising the limit to 20W. This change may require some adjustment for users who are used to seeing the “fast charging” message on lower-wattage chargers, but it also reflects how fast charging technology standards are changing, with higher wattages becoming the norm for faster charging times.