After owning the Pixel 2 XL, I had high hopes for the Pixel 6 Pro when I upgraded from the iPhone 11 Pro Max in early 2022. But the device had a terrible modem that often lost connection to my carrier, and the battery was among the worst for a 2021-2022 flagship phone. And don't even get me started on the under-display optical fingerprint scanner, which made unlocking the phone a gamble.
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Google has made some improvements to the chipset and next year, Google's Tensor G5, designed from scratch by Google, will be manufactured by TSMC in the foundry's 3nm process node. The Pixel 9 series uses the same ultrasonic fingerprint scanner as the Galaxy S24 series and the line will feature the Exynos 5400 modem. The latter supports satellite connectivity and more.
While it sounds like things are on the right track, one area where Google hasn’t made any changes, even though it could have, is the wireless charging feature of the Pixels 9 Series. Google has decided not to support the Qi2 wireless charging standard on its latest phones. Qi (pronounced “chee”) 2 offers wireless charging speeds of up to 15W, double the wireless charging speed of the previous Qi generation. The new standard is set to launch in 2023, and any Qi2 charger will be able to charge any Qi2 phone.
Google is taking pre-orders for its new 45W charger for the Pixel 9 series, which charges at 27W. | Image credit: PhoneArena
In addition, Qi2 charging is more efficient because the new Magnetic Power Profile ensures that the coils are perfectly aligned, thus less energy is lost. This happens when the coils are misaligned. Since the energy is lost as heat, this can shorten the life of the phone's battery.
In fact, only one Android phone currently supports Qi2 and you've probably never heard of this model. It's the HMD Skyline, a mid-range phone powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 AP but with a 6.55-inch display with a 144Hz refresh rate, a 108MP main camera and a 50MP selfie camera.
So now we can look forward to next year’s Pixel 10, which will bring improvements under the hood with the Google-developed Tensor G5 SoC. We will almost certainly see the Pixel 10 range come with Qi2 wireless charging support. As for the Pixels 9 Series, faster wireless charging may still be possible if you find a case that supports Qi2 wireless charging.
