Google Pixel peaks at 15W charging, only Pixel XL can do the advertised 18W

The Pixel and the Pixel XL are the two new smartphones launched by Google and are the company’s best attempt yet on a smartphone, both in software and hardware point of view. We all know that there is not much of a difference when you compare twp of them apart from the size right. The internals are all the same, and they pack pretty much the same power as well, which is a good move by the company since many people prefer smaller size but don’t want to sacrifice power. Well, that’s what Google told you right? But there’s more to it.

Apart from the so obvious size difference, there is something else which the company totally neglected at the presentation and decided not to tell anyone maybe until this point. A well-known tester in the Android community for detailing USB/charging specs reported that during his testing of the smaller pixel with the included fast charger, he was not able to get the phone to pull the full 18W charging speeds which Google advertised. Instead, it was peaking at 15W just like the previous Nexus smartphones.

What does it mean to you as an average consumer? Nothing actually. It is not going to make much difference when it comes to charging speeds, but it is definitely something you should be aware of. In his post, the tester presented the idea that Google has this limit in place due to the thermal concerns. And furthermore, the smaller battery in the Pixel means that it will match the charging speeds of the larger battery in the XL. Well, it would have been nice is they would have mentioned anything regarding this.

Later when folks over at Android Police reached out to the company, they confirmed that Google Pixel did indeed cap out at 15W. Necessary changes were also made in the marketing materials as well. The Pixel XL, on the other hand, does max out at 18W and there is no issue there. But again, the lower peak speeds won’t really matter much in terms of regular day-to-day usage and no one will notice a difference. But hey, if you trusting the advertisement and are putting in so much money on a smartphone, then the least we as a consumer can expect is some transparency here.

With that being said, both the smartphones are extremely good at what they claim to do. Both of them offer top of the line specs in the market right now and offer features as well. The software is the best of Android till now and there is no denying that. And if you are planning to buy any of them, then you will not go wrong with your decision whatsoever. Just bear in mind that if you are hungry for numbers and specs, then you might not be seeing the numbers adding up here. Well, let us know if you are planning to pick one up or if you have already picked one up. Stay tuned for more info on this.

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